South Korea to ban sale of dog meat, affecting long-standing restaurants

South Korea’s parliament passed a law in 2024 that will ban the sale of dog meat across the country, with the prohibition slated to begin in 2027. The measure ends a long-standing practice of serving Bosintang, a soup made from dog meat, in traditional eateries. Lee Deok Seung, the septuagenarian owner of the Old Days restaurant in Seoul’s Sinjin Market, says she will have to introduce a new specialty, possibly goat meat, or shut down after four decades of business.

A Gallup survey from 2024 reported that only eight percent of South Koreans had eaten dog meat in the prior year, indicating a sharp decline over the past ten years. Former professor Ahn Yong Geun, who authored a book on the nutritional benefits of dog meat, criticized the ban as cultural imposition. The law follows a broader shift in South Korean society, where pet ownership has risen and public sentiment toward dogs has become more protective.