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

[kushibo]

Jim Hoare wrote:
> For what it is worth, and with apologies if I am telling you what you
> already know, there is a short biographical essay by Adrian Pinnington on R
> H Blythe in "Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits ", edited by Ian
> Nish, and published the Japan Library, Folkestone, Kent in 1994. It covers -
> briefly - his time in Korea, noting that he was generous to his students,
> but also found some aspects of Korea not to his liking - he was apparently
> very fond of dogs, and the killing of them did not appeal.

This is a serious thought. Without getting into my own convoluted opinions
about the issue of dog-eating in Korea, I wonder how much of an effect this
practice may have had on early Western visitors/residents in Korea.
Certainly the impression of Korea held by some influential British or
American citizens played some role in their respective government's actions
(or inaction) on the peninsula during the turn-of-the-century intrigue, and
the practice of eating dog may have contributed to the impression that Korea
was a backward, even barbaric, nation needing the tutelage of a foreign
power such as (take your pick). Does anyone have any interesting resources
to point out regarding early Westerners and their viewpoint regarding this
traditional practice?

K U S H I B O


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