[KS] Re: dog-eating [was: Reginald Horace Blyth]

Richard C. Miller rcmiller at students.wisc.edu
Mon Jul 17 21:56:05 EDT 2000


Alas, I have no sources to which to point you on the issue of dog-eating,
but I will hazard the guess that turn-of-the-century European/American
visitors to Korea, if they had any experience in Asia at all, were likely
not surprised at the practice. It's everywhere, not just Korea. China,
Vietnam, Thailand (which is currently debating closing dog/cat restaurants
in Bangkok), the Philippines, and those parts of Indonesia beyond the reach
of Islam: around Lake Toba in Sumatra, in the Toraja highlands in south
Sulawesi, in Minahasa (north Sulawesi), and throughout Ambon. Not to
mention the fact that many Native American groups ate dog as well, some of
the Mexican peoples going so far as to have a special breed for the purpose.

I find the attitudes toward dog-eating in different parts of Asia rather
curious. I have gotten the impression that many Koreans are embarrassed by
the practice--certainly a lot of Korean-Americans are, although that may in
turn reflect the grief they've gotten from non-Asian Americans on the
subject. (Growing up nearly forty years ago in the upper Midwest, which at
that time had almost no Asian-Americans outside the larger cities, I also
note the lack of differentiation between Asian nations among non-Asian
Americans...). Vietnamese I have spoken with, and I grant there have not
been many, seem mostly mystified that anyone cares. The folks here in
Minahasa, on the other hand, know quite well that many Europeans and
Americans (not to mention Muslims) are revolted by the thought of snacking
on Rover, and take immense pleasure in boasting about their own dog-eating.
It's a festive dish here, by the way, and hardly cheap: 200,000 rupiah for
one meal's worth (feeds 4-6 people), which is significantly more than a
month's salary, on average. (If you're curious, there will soon be 10,000
rupiah per $US, so about $20 per "tail").

It does not taste like chicken.
--Richard C. Miller
--UW School of Music
--Manado, Indonesia
--rcmiller at students.wisc.edu
  http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~rcmiller/


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