Bosintang[a] (Korean: 보신탕, South Korean name) or tan'gogikuk (단고기국, North Korean name) is a Korean soup (guk) that uses dog meat as its primary ingredient. The meat is boiled with vegetables such as green onions, perilla leaves, and dandelions, and flavorants such as doenjang, gochujang, and perilla seed powder.[1] It is seasoned with agastache rugosa before eating. The soup has been claimed to provide increased virility.[2]
The dish, as with all dog meat consumption in South Korea, has become highly controversial in recent decades. There are now a number of significant legal restrictions around the butchering of dogs. According to a 2020 survey of South Koreans, 83.8% have never eaten dog meat before.
Most scholars agree that people on the Korean peninsula have consumed dog meat for thousands of years. The history of bosintang is more recent. A 1849 book Dongguksesigi contains a recipe for bosintang that includes boiled dog and green onion.[3]
Boshintang is considered to be a similar dish to yukgaejang, which uses beef as its primary ingredient.[citation needed]
In June 2018, a South Korean municipal court ruled that killing dogs for their meat was illegal, though this law did not make it illegal to consume dog meat.[4]
According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Humane Society International of 1,000 South Koreans, 83.8% never consumed dog meat and had no plans to ever do so. 58.6% supported the outright ban of its consumption, with 57% of people responding that it had a negative impact on international perceptions of South Korea.[5]
On January 9, 2024, the South Korean parliament passed a law prohibiting the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption which will take effect in 2027 following a three-year grace period.[6]
Controversy
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