I know there may be an outcry
over this last photograph. I felt I had to include it. I can only
tell you what I was told by our tour guide, who was born and raised
on
JeJu
Island
in South Korea. One of our scheduled stops was the local market,
known as the 5-day market. It is a huge outdoor market where all
kinds
of
goods are sold. On the bus to the market, our guide kept talking about
the variety of merchandise we would be seeing. Several times she mentioned
that there would be many dogs for sale. I finally spoke up and asked
her if they were being sold as pets. She looked a little embarrassed
and told me, "No, most of them are sold for food." With a sinking
feeling, I asked her to explain. She
told me that mixed breed dogs are usually sold for food, while purebred
dogs are usually sold as pets. She added that dog meat is consumed
more often by men than women because it is believed to make men "stronger."
She went on to tell me how the dogs are
cooked, but I will spare you the details.
When we reached the market,
I asked our guide to take me to the area where the dogs
are sold. There were many cages set up all along the edge of the market
place. It was clear which dogs were intended as pets because they
were well
groomed
and
placed
in
nicer
cages. Others were not as fortunate. I did not see any adult dogs
for sale. Most were just puppies. I took a
lot of photographs, but this particular pup was the one that really
got to
me.
I must say we saw plenty of
dogs while we were in Busan, Korea. They were clearly
pets. People could be seen strolling the streets or sitting at outdoor
restaurants with a cute little dog tucked
under
one arm.
The dogs
appeared to be adult purebreds of various types and they were always
very small. Often they were dressed in some sort of fancy sweater
despite the
heat.
You
could tell they were well loved and well cared for.
In Busan I saw
no dog meat in the markets or on the menu. I can't say whether or
not dog meat is commonly consumed in Korea. Perhaps
in
less urban
areas (such as JeJu Island ) the practice persists, while in the
larger cities it does not. I just don't know. While the notion of
eating dog meat is disturbing to western cultures, it was not my place
to
judge
– or
pry – while I was a guest in Korea. I let the subject drop.
Previous
Installment
Archived comments (1) |
©2002-2008
by Ginnie Saunders. All rights are reserved. No part of this web
site
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage or retrieval system without written
permission from Ginnie
Saunders. To learn more about copyright issues on the web,
visit the Web Law
FAQ.
Ginnie.com, Inc.
PO Box 50314
Columbia, SC 29250
(803) 783-3169
www.ginnie.com
|
|