While the Winter Olympics is being expected to promote peace and goodwill, something is happening on the sidelines that is not only controversial, divisive and for many, if not most Americans, truly enraging: dog meat soup is being served in some restaurants in the shadow of the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. The government has requested that such be taken off the menu, still, there are those who are defying the order.
Serving dog meat soup has triggered intense outrage among animal rights campaigners, and even athletes themselves who are now united in efforts and solidarity to save millions of puppies from execution.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"The dogs need athletes to speak for them. Let's get the word out to the media! This is the golden opportunity for the dogs."<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pyeongchang2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pyeongchang2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthKorea?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthKorea</a><br><br>Links here to US media contacts:<br><br>➡️<a href="https://t.co/7DbMbh7x0n">https://t.co/7DbMbh7x0n</a><br><br>➡️<a href="https://t.co/ZGI8J2TCWM">https://t.co/ZGI8J2TCWM</a> <a href="https://t.co/C6HNuN1K0L">pic.twitter.com/C6HNuN1K0L</a></p>— SaveKoreanDogs (@NamiKim_DogsSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/NamiKim_DogsSK/status/962372026362195968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Dogs including beloved breeds as labradors ad huskies are farmed,denied of their freedom by keeping them in cages then mercilessly killed by electrocution before being boiled and turned into broth delicacies.
Dog-eating is common in South Korea where its people are believed to eat around one million dogs a year as a “summertime meal.”
Activists have even threatened to boycott this year’s Winter Olympics due to the dog controversy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotWatching?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NotWatching</a> the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningCeremony?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OpeningCeremony</a> because 3 millions of dogs are tortured every year in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthKorea?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthKorea</a> for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DogMeatTrade?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DogMeatTrade</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Boycott?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Boycott</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PyeongChang2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PyeongChang2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/1zThNcf4Qc">https://t.co/1zThNcf4Qc</a></p>— SaveKoreanDogs (@NamiKim_DogsSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/NamiKim_DogsSK/status/962082006426415104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Some competing athletes in the ongoing Winter Olympics have even taken to adopting dogs from the Korean dog meat trade to save the poor canines. Individual dog-lovers are also doing the same, with some dogs “destined” to die from the meat trade getting a new leash on life literally and being adopted by families as far as the U.S.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"One last walk with Piper, he is going to our foster home in Florida. Baccas is adopted out to the most loving home of Kathy. Thank you Kathy for your compassion"➡️<a href="https://t.co/POnH6rAvlv">https://t.co/POnH6rAvlv</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveKoreanDogs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveKoreanDogs</a><a href="https://t.co/FxtdwQ4iEY">pic.twitter.com/FxtdwQ4iEY</a></p>— SaveKoreanDogs (@NamiKim_DogsSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/NamiKim_DogsSK/status/961671428897722375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Local authorities asked the existing 12 dog meat restaurants in Pyeongchang county to stop serving such meal that is so contentious and highly-offensive to other foreign participants including the U.S. and Canada. The government even offered subsidies if the restaurants will stop serving such meal during the games.
Unfortunately, only two restaurants complied with the government’s order. The other defiant restaurant operators blamed poor sales whenever they supposedly try to stop serving dog meat or dish.
Officially, dog meat is classified as “detestable” by Seoul similar to snake. However, said designation carries no legal ramifications.
Dog meat-eating as a tradition in South Korea is, at least, declining as the Asian nation is starting to warm up to the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock. Young South Koreans are especially shunning the old practice of their elders.
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