A local walks into a bosintang, or dog meat soup, restaurant in Seoul on Aug. 7, 2024YONHAP
One week before chobok — the first of Korea's three traditional boknal, or literally the dog days of summer — the bosintang (dog meat soup) alley in Sinjin Market, Jongno District, central Seoul, was uncharacteristically quiet.
Bosintang, meaning “body-nourishing soup,” has traditionally been eaten during boknal to restore strength through the three hottest days in the Korean calendar. Chobok is the first of the three, landing on July 15 this year. It is followed over the next several weeks by jungbok and malbok.
“Seven or eight years ago, people would be lining up outside bosintang restaurants around this time of year,” said Oh Se-gil, as he walked past a sign reading “Dog Soup” on July 8.
Oh once made a habit of visiting the alley every summer with younger acquaintances visiting Seoul from other regions. This time, however, he instead headed into a restaurant specializing in hot-pot rice bowls.
“As pet dogs began appearing more often in the media, I found myself less and less willing to go into bosintang restaurants,” Oh said. “The meaning behind these seasonal customs has faded too, and with so many other choices now available, fewer people feel the need to set aside a specific day for restorative food.”
Though this year effectively marks the final boknal season before the Dog Meat Ban Act takes full effect next February, the alley already was largely deserted, even during the evening dinner hour.
Nearby restaurants serving dakhanmari, or whole-chicken hot pot, were packed with customers, while only three or four tables were occupied at the bosintang restaurants.
“Boknal is just around the corner, and still no customers,” a bosintang restaurant owner said with a sigh. “I don’t have much choice left but to switch the business over to goat meat soup.”
A diner surnamed Joo, who said they regularly eat bosintang during the summer, expressed concern that the trade could move underground after the ban takes effect next year.
“I have tried goat meat soup, but it does not give me the same revitalized feeling bosintang does,” Joo said. “There are still people out there who want it, so I worry that making it illegal will just push it underground.”
A sign at a dog meat soup restaurant that changed its main dish shows the words “goat soup” pasted over “dog meat soup” on July 16, 2024.JOONGANG ILBO
A 38-year debate
The Special Act on the Termination of Breeding, Slaughter, and Distribution of Dogs for Food, commonly known as the Dog Meat Ban Act, was enacted in February 2024. The government built in a three-year grace period to give business owners time to close down or switch to other industries.
Starting next February, breeding, slaughtering, distributing and selling dogs for human consumption will be completely prohibited.
To help with the transition, the government is offering dog farm and restaurant owners up to 2 million won ($1,340) toward shop demolition costs and 2.5 million won toward replacing menus and signs, along with consulting support.
Controversy over dog meat consumption first flared up ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when overseas animal welfare groups criticized Korea’s practice of eating dog meat.
Related bills to restrict the practice surfaced several times over the following decades but never made it into law, as advocates who called it traditional food culture clashed repeatedly with those who viewed the practice as animal cruelty.
Legislative discussions finally gained momentum in August 2023, when the People Power Party introduced a ban that came to be known as the Kim Keon Hee law. The nickname reflected the former first lady's repeated public calls to end dog meat consumption.
Crowds gather to eat samgyetang, or chicken soup, along a street lined with dog meat soup restaurants near Sinjin Market in Jongno District, central Seoul, on July 15, 2024.JOONGANG ILBO
Number of dog farms falls 82 percent
Dog farms and dog-meat restaurants have been quickly disappearing ahead of the law’s full implementation.
As of May, 272 farms nationwide were still raising dogs for meat, down about 82 percent from 1,537 in August 2024, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
In Seoul, 310 dog meat restaurants reported plans to close or switch businesses when the law was enacted in February 2024, according to the city government. Eighty-four have shut down since, leaving 226 still operating as of June.
“Because enforcement of the penalty provisions under the law has been deferred until next February, effective sanctions beyond administrative measures remain limited until then,” the National Assembly Budget Office said in a budget settlement analysis released this month.
“It is also necessary to work with local governments to confirm businesses are actually following through on their closure or conversion plans, and to strengthen follow-up oversight to make sure dogs are not bred or slaughtered for food once businesses shut down,” the office added.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
