[KS] Korean attitudes towards "German" Shepherd Dogs

[Gary Rector / Yu]

For about ten years from the early 1970s to the early 80s, there was
a man in my neighborhood (Seoul, Donam-dong) who ran the ice shop
in the local market and also bred German shepherds for sale. He
always kept and raised two or three of the dogs for himself and his
family. Everyone in the market knew and liked his dogs. Once he sold
a pup to a family I was well-acquainted with in Sangju, and they
kept and loved that dog for many years till it died. I saw no negative
attitudes toward those dogs just because they were German shepherds,
although some women and younger kids were afraid of them at first
because they were so big. This man was about ten years my senior,
which would mean he was born in the early 1930s and would remember
the Japanese occupation well. I don't recall him or anyone else
in the market mentioning any associations between German shepherds
and the Japanese, although it's conceivable that people wouldn't
mention something like that, out of deference to this man's
feelings.

Gary Rector / Yu

Aaron Herald Skabelund wrote:
> In relation to a larger project on human-canine relations, I have a
> question about Korean attitudes towards "German" Shepherd Dogs. I
> have heard from a number of Korean specialists that an older
> generation of Koreans dislikes these dogs because of their
> extensive deployment by Japanese colonial authorities. Similar
> attitudes exist among older people in Manchuria and Taiwan, where I
> have been able to find textual and visual evidence of such
> historical memories. I have so far been unable to find any material
> for Korea, except for some anecdotal evidence. In addition, I
> recently heard that some Koreans refer to the breed as "Yankee
> Dogs," presumably because of their use by the Americans after 1945.
> It would seem that negative attitudes toward the dogs translated
> smoothly across eras of colonial oppression and American occupation
> and a large U.S. military presence. Any ideas, references, leads, or
> suggestions, and even additional anecdotes, are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Aaron Skabelund
> Research Fellow
> Hokkaido University
>