Dogs: Reflecting on Korean culture and myself

*Warning: this is a potentially controversial post. I think animal rights activists and Korean nationalists alike could read this an find fault. And yet here it is, uploaded here for you to choose to read, because I had to get this out of my circling loopdy-loo brain. I'm conflicted.
So.
Conflicted.

Okay, this is so true... but not related.

And what I'm about to write is actually really serious so... no more funny gifs. Let Mindy fill you up and then read on.

Let's stop dancing around. Here we go.
I am about 98% certain that several of the farms around me raise dogs for meat.
That's quite an assumption, young missy.
It is an assumption, but after biking past these few farms almost every day for over 7 months, and seeing rows of cramped cages with dogs inside that never move or do anything but bark, right in front of the cows they are "raising" stuck inside in a reflected formation and comparable living standards? Yeah, these dogs aren't for playdates.
Yes, some people eat dogs in Korea. Now I know that this is super sensitive. If you don't know it's sensitive, check out the response to that infamous comic production thing, "The Interview".
Or I can break it down for you: Loud Westerner condemns (so-called) backward lesser foreigner culture (Korean) for eating dog. Korean immediately denies that they eat dog and are civilized and not backwards and just shut up Westerner.
Yes, the vast majority of Koreans have never had dog meat. Any student I've asked is abhorred about eating dog meat (Unless they're being smart about how hungry they are, and they literally claim to eat anything I suggest, slug book rock Gabby-teacher included) And I've taught a good 450 kids at this point. And this is the "countryside". Korean city-folk are even more likely to proclaim disgust about dog meat and Seoulites especially like to point the blame for dog meat to the country.
To my knowledge it's actually becoming illegal if not strongly discouraged by the government (precisely because they don't want the big loud Westerner to call their culture lesser). Yet people still do eat dog meat. Who? Probably elderly people or tourists. I don't know.

The scary thing is, when I bike past these rows of cages with barking dogs inside, I am incredibly indifferent. The once absurdly outspoken animal-lover in me, shuts up.

Why?

Earlier in one my first video calls home since moving out to my own house in Aug/Sept and when I was just discovering my new neighborhood in farmland Hwacheon, I was not in the best mood, and snapped at my parents when they said something like "poor dogs" after hearing my descriptions. Honestly, after a long work day, the overwhelming noise of dogs barking is scary and unsettling and, in that moment, made me hate them. I still remember this conversation because after I snapped, my parents stayed very quiet and still, and I knew I had shocked them. I had changed.

Once again, why? Why, Gabby??

Hmm. Because it'd honestly be so hypocritical of me to claim that putting dogs in cages to eat is inhuman when I am so very well aware of the conditions of any other meat/dairy item I consume.

There are documentaries about it. We make children's movies about it. We know that lives for chickens and pigs and cows really really really sucks. Factory farms feed our ever demanding demand for more. It's all over our media and surrounding our senses. We know. Does that stop everyone from getting their terriyaki/taco/steak/burger/meatloverspizza fix? No. Some people, sure. The vast majority, no.

Even learning about things like the greenhouse gases of cow farms and environmental problems really freaks me out, yet I still eat that meat. A cynical part of me knows that if I refuse that pork dumpling, someone else will eat it or it'll go to waste anyways. I can't bring that animal or this animal back to life by not eating food thats already prepared.

Let's take an unnecessary look at my life shall we?

I ate meat growing up because my mom served me meat in some meals, and I don't turn down Mom's food (it's the best).

I was vegetarian freshman year of college when I celebrated finally getting to choose what goes on my plate in the dining halls.

In sophomore year, I learned that to be culturally adaptable and unburden-some when studying abroad in Asia (and many other foreign countries) just accept what your host family eats (and honestly most restaurants won't know how to really deal with you as a vegetarian abroad) so, valuing world and cultural experience over unsustainable "hippie" animal protection, I weaned back to the meats.

Even after returning to meat, I don't qualify as a meat-lover. The animal products I regularly use in my kitchen this year are basically limited to eggs and milk (also because meat is $$$ and tofu/no meat saves me so much $$$). In our school's "company dinners" 회식 we often get Korean barbecue and grill meat, but other than that, I could be back to veggie me of 5+ years afore.

Back to the dogs. Beyond feeling hypocritical about condemning how farmers treat any animal here, I have noticed my general perception of dogs changing. Korea was not a very "pet-loving" country for a while. A lot has changed over the past few decades, as you can see from Simon and Martina's recounting of their first years teaching here around 2008-2013 and comparing the pet culture to their first days in Japan in 2016, or even in the growth of animal friendly recreation with animal cafes and whatnot.

Even though Korea has become much more accepting of pets, there are some strong-held beliefs that many people here still hold onto (in my observations).

1) Big dogs are scary.
From Seoul, to Hwacheon, I rarely see people taking big dogs for walks. The majority of dogs I see in public are tiny, cute, "unthreatening" breeds. I have seen some wonderfully cared for dogs of all sizes in a dog cafe in Busan (more of a, owner's out, dog go socialize in this cafe with people who pay to watch/pet/adore you)

Photo credit to Monica ~

Every once in a while, I'll see a bigger breed in Seoul, but the smaller dogs are simply more desired. (And the smaller "cute" dogs I see are treated comparable to how they are treated in America, doted on, carried around, shown off, dressed up, given Instagram accounts. So number 2 doesn't apply to them (most small dogs))


2) Dogs aren't indoor friendly. Or "man's best friend".
In Hwacheon, there's tons of houses with a medium-sized dog or two or three as a "pet" but they are always outside, and more often than not, on a tiny chain/leash. All. the. time. Truly.
I know Leanndra's host family last year let their dogs inside (at least in the mud room/sheltered area) when it was winter, but all the farm houses around where I live now left their dogs out in the cold all winter long. I never see kids playing with dogs or really any humans interacting with their dogs left outside unless it's to give their food (leftovers usually). And forget regular baths as well (again, Leanndra's host family is an exception, I heard stories of their washing adventures and we all socialized with her dogs often). It's just such a different mindset here. The dogs for the family below me are basically just to bark at the crows and mockingbirds that could come to potentially eat the crops/grains. It they don't do their job, the mother comes out and scolds them. I think these dogs could be viewed as workers just to guard. Their only duty is to bark. Not be a companion or friend. Just bark at everything.

I can't deny it, this mindset has been rubbing off on me too. Me, who begged for a dog my whole childhood and loves every one of my friend's furry friends back home. I get easily spooked by these dirty, mistreated dogs on chains in front of their houses (or caged for whatever reason...). They bark every time I go past and it's never a friendly sound. A few months ago, the nearby farms covered the front of the cow barn and dog cages so I can't see the animals, but I still can hear them. Not seeing them just makes me more indifferent. My bike has been squeaking more this past month, which just makes the dogs go more crazy as I bike up the hill. So I try to bike past as fast as I can.

Sigh.
I know this post will set many of you readers off, as if I have brushed you the wrong way, sprayed something in your eye, scraped metal on metal. I apologize. I truly just wanted to write about this change within my mind that is twisting my heart.

If you are in Korea and have a different view on how dogs are treated, let me know. What is it like where you live? Hwacheon certainly isn't all of Korea.

If you are in another country please collect your thoughts and try to be reflective as you write your response (I do want to know your response!) Just please don't be too quick to condemn this culture you probably don't fully understand.

Before I leave you, thinking about how to process a very different culture and poor Gabby's inner turmoil, I have a ray of starlight. A chunk of rainbow in this sad gloomy post. There is this one farm-house I bike past on my way to town, and they recently got an adorable little puppy (yes they leave it outside, in this rounded meshed off area). It's so fluffy and happy, every time it hears my bike approach its little tail starts wagging crazily and it bounds around waiting for me to say hello. This little puppy has saved me from thoughts like, "Do I hate all dogs now? Am I truly heartless?"
By not terrifying me with barking and teeth, this puppy just want to be loved, and I have stopped every morning and evening, no matter how late I am or exhausted, and I recharge my happiness cuddling this little fluff-ball.
I'm worried as it never seems to eat the bowl of dog food and it must be so bored stuck in a the same circle outside everyday. But I haven't met the family who lives at that house, and I don't want to overstep myself by bringing different food or just messing with their pet too much. It's just the sweetest thing~ I hope it will have a happy life full of love~

It doesn't actually look like this... but it's just as angelic. Maybe I'll update this post soon with REAL PICTURES OF ME WITH THIS ANGEL PUP!

Updated! This little one wouldn't stay still so it's not the best... But you can still tell how cute it is~~

Musing complete. Really let me know what you think please~ it means a lot to me. Scold me for not saving them. Console me for my fears. Judge me for my weird reasoning. Praise me for finally realizing dogs are evil (cough Morgan cough).
Please just remember to not judge this culture that is complex and full of a history very different from the one you may know.

Bye~~~~

Gabby, conflicted animal lover