Bosintang
Boshintang (보신탕; 補身湯), or Gaejangguk (개장국, -醬-) is a Korean soup that includes dog meat as its primary ingredient.[1] The soup has been claimed to provide increased virility.[2] The meat is boiled with vegetables such as green onions, perilla leaves, and dandelions, and spices such as Doenjang (된장), Gochujang (고추장), and perilla seed powder.[3] It is seasoned with Agastache rugosa to remove the stench of dog meat before eating. The dish, one of the most common Korean foods made from dog meat, has a long history in Korean culture, but has in recent years been criticized both inside and outside Korea due to concerns about animal rights and sanitation.
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[edit] History
The consumption of dog meat can be traced back to antiquity. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong (창녕), South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo tombs complex (고구려 고분군; 高句麗 古墳群) in South Hwangghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse (Ahn, 2000).[4]
Approximately in 1816, Jeong Hak Yu (정학유; 丁學遊), the second son of Jeong Yak-yong (정약용; 丁若鏞), a prominent politician and scholar of Choseon dynasty at the time, wrote a poem called Nongawollyeonga (농가월령가; 農家月令歌). This poem, an important source of Korean folk history, describes what ordinary Korean farmer families did in each month of a year. in the description of August, the poem sings about a married woman visiting her birth parents with boiled dog meat, rice cake, and rice wine, thus shows the popularity of dog meat at the time (Ahn, 2000; Seo, 2002).
In Dongguk Seshigi (동국세시기; 東國歲時記), a book written by a Korean scholar Hong Suk Mo (홍석모; 洪錫謨) in 1849, contains a recipe of Boshintang including a boiled dog and green onion.[4]
Since 1986, Boshintang has been ostensibly banned by the Korean government. However, it is still regularly consumed and can be found easily at many restaurants across South Korea. [5]
[edit] Names
There are many different names for this dish in the Korean language, some of which may be considered euphemisms.
| Revised Romanization |
Hangul | Hanja or mixed script |
Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| boshintang | 보신탕 | 補身湯 | "invigorating soup" |
| yeongyangtang | 영양탕 | 營養湯 | "nutritious soup" |
| boyangtang | 보양탕 | 補養湯 | "invigorating soup" |
| gaejang(guk)* | 개장(국) | 개醬(국) | "dog soy bean paste soup" |
| sacheoltang | 사철탕 | 四철湯 | "soup for all seasons" |
| dangogitang | 단고기탕 | 단고기湯 | "sweet-meat soup" |
| gutang | 구탕 | 狗湯 | "dog soup" |
| gujang | 구장 | 狗醬 | "dog soy bean paste soup" |
| jiyangtang | 지양탕 | 地羊湯 | "land sheep soup" |
| meongmeongtang | 멍멍탕 | 멍멍湯 | "woof woof soup" |
* Not to be confused with the homophone "게장 (gejang; marinated crabs)", nor with the well-known "육개장 (Yukgaejang; beef soup)".
[edit] Controversy
Use of dogs for meat and the methods of slaughter used have generated friction between dog lovers, both Westerners and Koreans.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [1] The Seoul Times 'Dog Meat Restaurants Crowded With Diners'
- ^ "S Korea dog meat row deepens". BBC News. November 12, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1651543.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ 2004 Seoul Shinmoon article
- ^ a b [2] 2008 Seoul Shinmoon article
- ^ Bob M. "A Thoughtful Blog on Nutrition, A Squeamish Proposition for Most. Bosintang", Yahoo.com, October 17, 2010, accessed January 17, 2011.
