Bosintang
Encyclopedia
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n soup that includes dog meat
Dog meat
Dog meat refers to edible parts and the flesh derived from dogs. Human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including ancient China, ancient Mexico, and ancient Rome. According to contemporary reports, dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as...
as its primary ingredient. The soup has been claimed to provide increased virility
Virility
Virility refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively. It is not applicable to women or to negative characteristics. The Oxford English Dictionary says virile is "marked by strength or force." Virility is commonly associated with vigour, health, sturdiness, and...
. The meat is boiled with vegetables such as green onions
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
, perilla
Perilla
Perilla is the common name of the herbs of the genus Perilla of the mint family, Lamiaceae. In mild climates, the plant reseeds itself. There are both green-leafed and purple-leafed varieties, which are generally recognized as separate species by botanists. The leaves resemble stinging nettle...
leaves, and dandelions, and spices such as Doenjang
Doenjang
Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. Its name literally means "thick paste" in Korean.-Production:...
(된장), Gochujang
Gochujang
Gochujang is a savory and pungent fermented Korean condiment. Traditionally, it has been naturally fermented over years in large earthen pots outdoors, more often on an elevated stone platform, called jangdokdae in the backyard...
(고추장), and perilla seed powder. The dish, one of the most common Korean foods made from dog meat, has a long history
Dog meat consumption in South Korea
The consumption of dog meat, called Gaegogi in Korean, has had a long history in South Korea as well as other Eastern Asian cultures, but it has been controversial both inside and outside of the country due to animal rights and sanitary concerns....
in Korean culture, but has in recent years been criticized both inside and outside Korea due to concerns about animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
and sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
.
History
The consumption of dog meat can be traced back to antiquity. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement in Changnyeong (창녕), South Gyeongsang
Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...
Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo tombs complex
Complex of Goguryeo Tombs
The Complex of Goguryeo Tombs lie in North Korea. In July 2004, they became the first UNESCO World Heritage site in the country. The site consists of 30 individual tombs from the later Goguryeo kingdom, one of Three Kingdoms of Korea, located in the cities of P'yŏngyang and Namp'o...
(고구려 고분군; 高句麗 古墳群) in South Hwangghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse (Ahn, 2000).
Approximately in 1816, Jeong Hak Yu (정학유; 丁學遊), the second son of Jeong Yak-yong
Jeong Yak-yong
Jeong Yak-yong was a leading Korean philosopher in the late Joseon Dynasty. He has usually been regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the so-called "Practical Learning" movement...
(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.
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.
Names
There are many different names for this dish in the Korean languageKorean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, some of which may be considered euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
s.
| Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... |
Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean... |
Hanja Hanja Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation... or mixed script |
Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| boshintang | "invigorating soup" | ||
| yeongyangtang | "nutritious soup" | ||
| boyangtang | "invigorating soup" | ||
| gaejang(guk)* | "dog soup" | ||
| sacheoltang | "soup for all seasons" | ||
| dangogitang | "sweet-meat soup" | ||
| gutang | "dog soup" | ||
| gujang | "dog soup" | ||
| jiyangtang | "land sheep soup" | ||
| meongmeongtang | "woof woof soup" | ||
Homophone
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
"게장 (gejang; marinated crabs)", nor with the well-known "육개장 (Yukgaejang
Yukgaejang
Yukgaejang is a spicy, soup-like Korean dish made from shredded beef with scallions and other ingredients, which are simmered together for a long time. It is a variety of gomguk, or thick soup, which was formerly served in Korean royal court cuisine...
; beef soup)".