Photo: Vegan bok meal from Cafe Igong, created as an alternative to the traditional summer dishes of dog meat and chicken. Credit: Cafe Igong.
Summer is the traditional time for dog meat, but the practice of eating dogs is rapidly falling out of favor among Koreans. According to this week’s Gallup Korea poll, only 17% approved of eating dogs, while 64% disapproved.
The dog meat approval faced a sharp decline from just seven years ago in 2015, when 37% approved (while 44% disapproved). The proportion of people who have had dog meat at least once in the past year also declined sharply from 2015 to 2022, from 27% to 8%.
