Today, after Brian and I arrived at work, but before we had gone out to eat lunch (the order is a little different here and it is perfectly expected that we will take care of some personal business like meals on company time) Teacher Justin forbade me from making my usual trip to the local Pizza Hut that happens to be on our hakwon's street, saying that he wanted to do something special.
I was vaguely aware that Koreans where rumored to eat dog meat before I came here and I decided around that time that if the opportunity arose, I should give the stuff a try. "When in Rome..." has become a kind of mantra since I've been here. At different times, I've talked to the kids about whether or not they have ever tried 보 신 탕 (Bo Shen Tang, a.k.a. "Protect-Body Tonic"...a.k.a.--Dog Meat Soup!) Some say that they have, some say that they haven't. Some say they liked it, others say it was gross. Quite a few, mostly the girls, say that it sounds too gross to try. Demographically speaking, older Korean men seem to enjoy the stuff the most. As with all things offputting to a Westerner, the excuse for eating it is that it is good for your health, stamina, and is a "wellbeing" food.
Anyways, Bo Shen Tang is precisely what our Korean coworker Justin was suggesting that we eat today! I had expressed an interest in it a few weeks ago, and so he did some quick research on it on the internet today, found a restaurant with a good reputation within walking distance, and after taking care of a few office-related things, we grabbed another Korean, Teacher Liz, and set out! Morale was high at this point.
Sadly, Brian's morale would be
considerably lower by the time
the meal was finished...ㅠ.ㅠ
There has been some controversy over eating dogs, aside from the obvious Western objections, because apparently the method of killing the animals isn't (or used to not be) very humane. The dogs are apparently flogged to death with some sort of stick or pole because the Koreans believe that it not only softens the muscles, but also releases adrenaline and related fear-chemicals into the dog's body, which only makes the meat that much more healthy when you eat it...! Although I've heard from one source that this practice is no longer in use, I haven't heard that verified anywhere else, so I had to do some rationalizing to overrule any moral objections I had left. All animals bred to be slaughtered for human consumption are treated terribly. Chickens have their beaks melted so that they aren't pointy and they can't peck at each other; cows are moved through execution plants that have more in common with Auschwitz than most people would care to admit; and dogs are (maybe still) beaten to death fully conscious. Rationalization complete, I was ready to eat!
I had wanted to order just dog-meat steak to eat with vegetables, but the cost was prohibitive. It was a difference between 20,000won and 8,000. At the restaurant, they brought out rice and side dishes first, but moments later, the still bubbling bowls of soup arrived. Excited and conflicted, Brian, Justin, Liz and I posed for several photos before digging in:
Liz has eaten Bo Shen Tang
once before with her father.
Justin had a dog when he was
a kid once for three days before
his family killed and ate it. He
continues to eat, and thoroughly
enjoy, dog meat to this day!
You ready?
Hmm...
Mmh?
MMM!!!!
Slightly disturbing was that
some pieces of meat had large
clumps of fat and pieces of dog
skin were also cooked in the soup.
Admittedly, I ate around all that,
but I ate all of the pieces of meat
that I could find.
In conclusion, the meal was pretty good; the meat was tender, it had a slightly sweet taste from a minty type of leaf that it was cooked with and I probably liked it better than some Korean seafood dishes I've had over here. I wouldn't be opposed to eating it again. Someday, I may still fork over the money and try dog meat steak. Brian tried several bites of it and drank a little bit of the broth, but ultimately he couldn't get past the fact that he was eating a dog. Liz, Justin, and I shared the remainder of his soup. On the way back to the hakwon, Liz asked us not to mention to the kids that she had eaten Bo Shen Tang. She also doesn't want them to know that she's a smoker because some things just aren't considered appropriate for a polite woman over here, so we didn't; but you can bet Brian and I were bragging to the kids plenty today!
I was vaguely aware that Koreans where rumored to eat dog meat before I came here and I decided around that time that if the opportunity arose, I should give the stuff a try. "When in Rome..." has become a kind of mantra since I've been here. At different times, I've talked to the kids about whether or not they have ever tried 보 신 탕 (Bo Shen Tang, a.k.a. "Protect-Body Tonic"...a.k.a.--Dog Meat Soup!) Some say that they have, some say that they haven't. Some say they liked it, others say it was gross. Quite a few, mostly the girls, say that it sounds too gross to try. Demographically speaking, older Korean men seem to enjoy the stuff the most. As with all things offputting to a Westerner, the excuse for eating it is that it is good for your health, stamina, and is a "wellbeing" food.
Anyways, Bo Shen Tang is precisely what our Korean coworker Justin was suggesting that we eat today! I had expressed an interest in it a few weeks ago, and so he did some quick research on it on the internet today, found a restaurant with a good reputation within walking distance, and after taking care of a few office-related things, we grabbed another Korean, Teacher Liz, and set out! Morale was high at this point.
Sadly, Brian's morale would be
considerably lower by the time
the meal was finished...ㅠ.ㅠ
There has been some controversy over eating dogs, aside from the obvious Western objections, because apparently the method of killing the animals isn't (or used to not be) very humane. The dogs are apparently flogged to death with some sort of stick or pole because the Koreans believe that it not only softens the muscles, but also releases adrenaline and related fear-chemicals into the dog's body, which only makes the meat that much more healthy when you eat it...! Although I've heard from one source that this practice is no longer in use, I haven't heard that verified anywhere else, so I had to do some rationalizing to overrule any moral objections I had left. All animals bred to be slaughtered for human consumption are treated terribly. Chickens have their beaks melted so that they aren't pointy and they can't peck at each other; cows are moved through execution plants that have more in common with Auschwitz than most people would care to admit; and dogs are (maybe still) beaten to death fully conscious. Rationalization complete, I was ready to eat!
I had wanted to order just dog-meat steak to eat with vegetables, but the cost was prohibitive. It was a difference between 20,000won and 8,000. At the restaurant, they brought out rice and side dishes first, but moments later, the still bubbling bowls of soup arrived. Excited and conflicted, Brian, Justin, Liz and I posed for several photos before digging in:
Liz has eaten Bo Shen Tang
once before with her father.
Justin had a dog when he was
a kid once for three days before
his family killed and ate it. He
continues to eat, and thoroughly
enjoy, dog meat to this day!
You ready?
Hmm...
Mmh?
MMM!!!!
Slightly disturbing was that
some pieces of meat had large
clumps of fat and pieces of dog
skin were also cooked in the soup.
Admittedly, I ate around all that,
but I ate all of the pieces of meat
that I could find.
In conclusion, the meal was pretty good; the meat was tender, it had a slightly sweet taste from a minty type of leaf that it was cooked with and I probably liked it better than some Korean seafood dishes I've had over here. I wouldn't be opposed to eating it again. Someday, I may still fork over the money and try dog meat steak. Brian tried several bites of it and drank a little bit of the broth, but ultimately he couldn't get past the fact that he was eating a dog. Liz, Justin, and I shared the remainder of his soup. On the way back to the hakwon, Liz asked us not to mention to the kids that she had eaten Bo Shen Tang. She also doesn't want them to know that she's a smoker because some things just aren't considered appropriate for a polite woman over here, so we didn't; but you can bet Brian and I were bragging to the kids plenty today!
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