Tag Archives: #southkorea

Obesity around the world – where and why?

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It is interesting to look at obesity rates for men, women, girls and boys around the globe. The differences between countries and their populations are striking and more or less pronounced, with poor places such as Ethiopia, Niger, Chad and Mali (about 2% obesity for women), and rich countries such as Japan and South Korea at one side of the spectrum (about 4% obesity for women), and a variety of emerging markets such as Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Venezuela, and wealthy nations such as The U.S., Great Britain, Saudi Arabia (50%!), Australia, New Zeeland and Finland on the opposite side. But why?

map=overview-women
Red = most obese
Turquoise = least obese

The reason for these patterns is most likely that in really poor countries, virtually no one can afford to be fat – food sources are scarce. That is true for not just a large part of Sub-Saharan Africans but also a significant share of people who inhabit nations like India and China. With regard to the two last-mentioned countries – with the two largest populations in the entire world – their middle-classes are growing in parallel with economic and material development, and their shirt sizes as well. However, it will take a while before an even larger share of people can afford easy accessible food supplies. Many are still too poor to be (over-)fed. Hence, we can expect higher obesity rates in many emerging markets, although beauty ideals and collectivistic cultural patterns may hold Chinese people – especially women – back.

In wealthy East Asian states like Japan and South Korea on the other hand, the dietary habits and beauty ideals are very distinct. People are also more collectivistic and in-group oriented than Western people. Japanese and Koreans – both sexes – eat some degree of unhealthy foodstuffs but do nevertheless keep themselves in check. This is how beautiful women in general should look, according to the current standards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5rMYc2PDro

In emerging markets on the other hand, a significant share of people can nowadays afford regular food and it has gradually become more accessible. Some products may of course be too expensive, but red meat, poultry, bread, sauce, sugar, rice, cereals, etcetera can be afforded. The same is obviously the case for rich OECD countries like The U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zeeland, Finland etcetera, and the combination of cultural individualism and relative fat acceptance can explain the current – more or less pronounced – obesity rates in these countries.

The outlier Saudi Arabia can be explained due to the fact that it is rich and that most women do not partake in regular physical exercise, and overall not nearly to the same extent as Western women. A huge share just stay home – often dressed in niqab – and eat, I guess. Similar national-cultural patterns are to be found in other Arab-Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Iraq, but the poorer share of inhabitants decrease the total obesity rate, making Saudi Arabia the most extreme in this respect. Plus, the Wahhabi doctrine magnifies the radical denunciation of female influence and activity in both public and private.

The parallels between K-pop and fitness and bodybuilding

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K-pop is not just the name of an umbrella music genre – South Korean pop music – which mainly attracts teenagers and young adults in East Asia and other locations of the world, but a phenomenon that is used as a means for national branding by the South Korean government and even as a concrete soft power tool in the context of a seemingly even more rancorous armistice between the two rivalry Korean states. Hence it is far from trivial, although a large share of the K-pop content indeed is very banal (and that is in turn an integrated part of the contemporary South Korean culture and something which its isolated northern neighbor lacks).

However, in this post I will not dwell on these particular sub-topics but instead briefly describe some of the characteristics that K-pop shares with bodybuilding and fitness. The increasing popularity of bodybuilding and fitness in South Korea is a subject of its own, and I may eventually write more about that as well. Nevertheless, there are some interesting parallels between the K-pop industry and the fitness industry that I will focus on. Part of the inspiration is obtained from this article and other observations.

First of all, both K-pop and bodybuilding/fitness are mostly about appearance and to make money out of it. (And this is not the same as to say that there is no passion in it.) The obvious difference in this regard, on the other hand, is that within K-pop a thin model look is praised while bodybuilding and fitness are, more or less, about muscle volume and definition. Even Men’s Physique competitors appear quite distant from their male K-pop counterparts, although there is also a partial overlap in terms of low percentage of body fat and even in relationship to the universal ideal face, as well as with regard to other secondary traits such as hairstyle and make-up (especially among girls/women). An additional difference is that K-pop, of course, is more audio-visual than fitness and bodybuilding which are mainly visual-only.

As with most comparative analyses, one can focus on either differences or similarities, or both. In terms of similarities, I think that one of the most striking parallels is the extent to which K-pop artists – often called idols – and competitors as well a large amount of non-competitors within fitness/bodybuilding are willing to go to succeed. The types of training within these two fields are of course very different from each other: dancing, singing, social etiquette and language practice are not being part of bodybuilding and fitness, whereas hypertrophy training and particular posing routines are not being part of K-pop. Additionally, the amount of training in total is not the same since K-pop artists train much more and more diligently than fitness athletes and bodybuilders.

Moreoever, K-pop performers are mostly educated and trained from an early age within the frames of their entertainment agencies’ talent systems, whereas bodybuilders and fitness athletes tend to start while they are teenagers or young adults and mainly as mere amateurs before they eventuallty become some kind of professional and then can make a living out of it. And within both categories, one is expected to smile most of the time, especially in a stage setting. The analogy between these two categories is perhaps harder to imagine with regard to heavy-weight bodybuilding, such as the Mr. Olympia, but easier in relationship to fitness and Men’s Physique. ‘A total package’ – and oft-repeated phrase within fitness – implies good looks and an overall appealing presence.

Another parallel that I can come to think of is the far-reaching changes of outer appearances by means of various ‘unnatural’ – besides ‘natural’ ones such as the conventional training and dieting patterns – measures: in K-pop plastic surgery and cosmetics, and in bodybuilding and fitness, the frequent and widespread use of anabolic steroids. Perhaps Brazilian butt lift and breast implants are used by females within both K-pop and Bikini Fitness but these are much more widespread within the latter domain, whereas alteration of facial features is the main route within the South Korean entertainment industry (and in fact, the South Korean society in general).

There are of course some ‘naturals’ within in K-pop that do not require any double eyelid and/or nose surgery, as there are some professionals in fitness modelling, Men’s Physique and even bodybuilding classes that do not use so called performance-enhancing drugs. And needless to say, not everyone uses either plastic surgery or anabolic steroids to the same degree and extent, and there is also a quite broad spectrum of different mixtures and components that may be utilized. In this respect, there is also an interesting difference in that sense that plastic surgery is completely legal and vastly promoted in public, particularly in Seoul, while anabolic steroids are illegal and banned from sports of all kind.

Further, another analogy is the visual extremes in terms of perfection – not just in relationship to training and dieting – but also regarding stage presence and performance. While among people in general, a large share may often tend to think that good are well enough for themselves, their friends and families and what they achieve, in K-pop, as in professional fitness, bodybuilding, and Men’s Physique there is virtually no limit to how perfect, ripped and/or big a group or individual and their performances should become. Just look at acts such as TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, EXO, and GOT7 among many other; and then at Men’s Physique competitors and fitness models such as Jeremy Buendia, Sadik Hadzovic, Jeff Seid and Sergi Constance to mention just a few. Of course, people’s tastes may differ but the ideals of perfection are rougly the same. Just good is definitely not good enough.

Spectators and audiences of K-pop on one hand, and bodybuilding, Men’s Physique and (Bikini or Figure) fitness on the other, may be stunned by the skills and perfection – and sometimes, in a seemingly contradictory and implicitly resentful fashion – wish for some balance and slack to it; but still want more and complain if they find flaws after scrutiny of the individuals who are blessed to act as the stars in their respective orbit. And this is also the case with the global fitness industry’s main marketing tool and, at least indirectly, primary consumer platform: social media, and its innumerable amounts of pictures that paint the individual strivings for quasi-perfection, also among millions of amateurs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NE2GWQQ5_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVRfjdiYAzs

K-Pop autumn 2015 top 10 list

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I am a quite selective person when it comes to music, and very generally speaking new material is seldom good. Hence, the list below includes both ‘old’ and some new favorite songs from the umbrella genre we know as K-pop. I have also included two songs in from live settings, so the idea is to make K-pop related lists which are balanced, varied, and a little bit unpredictable.

As I have said before, the use of Spanish words and/or images might be a tool for to pave the way for commercial success in Latin America. GFriend’s song and MV, ‘Me gustas tu’, is an example of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWjMoi5XwdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNbWrI2RuqU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-CKVr6Z1Tw

Super Junior – 10 years anniversary and their 10 best music videos

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The South Korean male group Super Junior celebrate their ten years anniversary at November 6 this year.

Most members are now between 28-32 years old, and over the years the group setting has shifted between eight to as much as thirteen active members depending on various circumstances, such as contract disputes and mandatory military services. The Canadian Henry Lau (1989-) – whose parents are from Hong Kong and Taiwan – is however only a part of the Mandarin-singing sub-unit Super Junior-M and during the last years he has mainly focused on his career as a solo k-pop artist. There is also another member of Super Junior-M, Zhou Mi (1986-) – born and raised in China – who is not a part of the regular SuJu setting, and Han Geng (1984-), also from China, is not a part of neither the main group, nor Super Junior-M, any longer.

Since the group – in tandem with their management company, S.M. Entertainment, which has founded the group and does generally decide its current sound and image – has released a vast amount of material over their active years (especially if one adds all the different sub-units such as Super Junior-K.R.Y., Super Junior-M, Super Junior-H, and Super Junior-T), it might be relevant to pick the ten best SuJu music videos in order to get a decent overview.

As the chronological selection below indicates, I am personally speaking more into the more catchy electronic dance music than ballads and R&B songs. Some of the more rap/rock-oriented stuff, such as the Triple 8 song ‘Twins’, and ‘Don’t don’ – which was produced and released when the group’s name was Super Junior 05 – does also appeal to my taste, and perhaps because these songs remind of bands like Faith no more and other hybrid acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, if I could only pick one absolute favorite in has to be ‘Bonamana’ (2010), which is still a fantastic song and MV. Note that ‘Super Girl’ (Korean version) is part of the sub-unit Super Junior-M, and hence this song and MV is also released in Mandarin.

Super Junior has definitely been a part of the recycling of different music genres and sub-genres among pop groups – a phenomenon that has become fashionable over the last years – while at the same time has been in the forefront of new music and fashion trends. Generally speaking, girls like SuJu more than guys do, but from a male perspective it may be quite inspiring to look into the fashion styles and demeanors; so if one has planned to go and shop anytime soon it is relevant to check out some of the MVs.

The seventh album, Mamacita (2014), is largely adjusted to the Latin American markets, such as Mexico, which is a consequence of these markets’ relative size and commercial significance and the group’s large popularity in this region.

Det sydkoreanska pojkbandet Super Junior – som under åren har växlat mellan att ha åtta till 13 aktiva medlemmar, beroende på en mängd orsaker, till exempel obligatorisk militärtjänstgöring – firar sitt tioårsjubileum den sjätte november i år. De flesta medlemmar är nu omkring 28-32 år gamla, men Henry Lau (1989-), som är född i Kanada av hongkongesiska och taiwanesiska föräldrar, och Zhou Mi (1986-), född i Kina, är enbart medlemmar i Super Junior-M. Han Geng (1984-) – även han från Kina – är inte längre medlem över huvud taget.

Eftersom denna grupp, i direkt anslutning till managementbolaget S.M. Entertainment, har släppt en stor mängd material under sin livstid, kan det vara relevant att lyfta fram de, enligt mig, tio bästa musikvideorna och låtarna. Jag har lagt upp dem i kronologisk ordning nedan.

Det som dominerar mitt urval är gruppens mer elektropop-aktiga material från 2009-2012, men även vissa rap/rock-låtar som Triple-8-covern “Twins”, och “Don’t don”, finns också med på listan. Noterbart är att samtliga låtar är på koreanska, men gruppen har lanserat material även på japanska (Super Junior K.R.Y.) och kinesiska (Super Junior-M), och i enstaka fall även på engelska. Om jag bara fick välja en enda video och sång skulle det bli “Bonamana” (2010), som fortfarande är en lika fenomenal dansuppvisning.

Super Junior är ett typexempel på fenomenet då popgrupper återvinner äldre musik- och modetrender, samtidigt som de är med och bidrar till nya sådana. Man kan även nämna den innehållsanpassning som har skett i och med det näst senaste fullängdsalbumet, Mamacita (2014), som troligen är en direkt följd av att gruppen är mycket populär i delar av Latinamerika, till exempel Mexiko. Det innebär att k-pop vidgas från de östasiatiska musikmarknaderna till andra sammanhang.

Joseph Nye

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When I write about Korean culture this subject can be more or less broadened since studies on contemporary Korean culture are often intimately linked to what is happening in other East Asian nations, the United States, and partly also other countries and regions of the world.

One example of this is that some key concepts which are relevant in relationship to Korean studies are also used in many other different contexts. Soft power – coined by the American poltical scientist Joseph Nye (1937-) in the late 1980s, developed in his work Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (1990), and re-elaborated in a number of later books and articles – is one such key term.

According to Nye soft power signifies ‘the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments’, and hence it is different from hard power phenomena such as miltary force, funding, and sanctions. Power – whether ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ – is often connected to foreign policy and a particular country’s will to influence other countries of the world by the means of dissemination of their own particular cultural taste.

Looked upon in a broader way, it can simply mean dispersion of culture in general and has less to do with power in the normal sense; but since soft power is often linked to current (Western) economic models and globalization, it can be hard to distinguish between soft power and hard economic power. In fact, the economic and the cultural dimensions do often overlap; or rather, soft power is often funded by governments.

I well not try to analyze or describe this complex concept in more depth. However, I will give a brief explanation of how soft power can be used these days. This I will do through a list which comprises five significant countries that use culture in one way or another – often in tandem with funding and/or export of cultural products – as a means of soft power.

The United States
The United States – the world’s largest economy and superpower (although a declining such) over the last 150 years or so – does unhesitatingly use a lot of hard power, such as military force, the almost global imposition of their currency, and sanctions against certain countries. But soft power-wise, one can also highlight the near-global dispersion of American popular culture – films, music, sports, fast food etcetera – and its largely market-based economic system and liberal democracy that many other countries either already have absorbed or wish for. The quote below offers a relevant and nuanced overall description of how hard versus soft power can be understood in the case of America:

Take the United Stated as the example. The worldwide popularity of Hollywood movies, Apple products, Google, Starbucks, and the NBA — to name just a few — may be cited as evidence of U.S. soft power, but it would be far-fetched to argue that this soft power has been a crucial factor behind the U.S. ability to get what it wants in other parts of the world. For one thing, drinking Starbucks coffee or watching the NBA does not necessarily translate into pro-American policy preferences. For another, it is difficult to imagine that the symbols of American soft power would have spread to the rest of the world and had such broad appeal had it not been for unrivaled American economic and military power.

 

China
Chinese soft power has become more evident during the recent years – a country to be the largest economy in the world in the not too distant future – and this has been manifested through for instance the large funding and dissemination of Chinese academic institutions and Chinese cultural centers around the world, as well as large-scale events such as the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008:

The Chinese government also has spent hundreds of billions of dollars improving the communication capabilities of its media outlets like CCTV, organizing mega events such as the Olympic Games and Shanghai Expo, funding Confucius Institutes, hosting summits attended by dozens of world leaders (e.g. APEC), and sponsoring forums on regional security and prosperity (e.g. the Boao Forum). An important justification for such lavish spending is that these activities can contribute to China’s soft power.

In democratic countries like Canada and Sweden, the academic freedom appears to have been undermined by Chinese-funded and -controlled institutes, which has resulted in several shutdowns of Confucius institutes that promote research on Chinese culture.

Perhaps China may not be as successful as The United States in this regard – people do generally long more for democracy and Starbucks than Confucian values – but the Chinese government does still strive for the use of soft power and has funded a vast amount of projects with large sums of money.

 

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is in total a rich country indeed – and at the same time it is one of the most authoritarian regimes in the entire world.

Saudi Arabia’s soft power is intimately connected to the country’s Wahhabi doctrine, a ‘modern’ and fundamentalistic form of Islam that was founded during the late eighteenth century and which advocates a draconican, Sharia-based (Hanbalic school) interpretation that will not allow any other interpretation, or for that matter any other religion, than their particular form of Islam. This religio-cultural framework has been funded by rich and influential Saudis since the 1970s onwards:

All in all, Saudi figures show that in the period 1973 and 2002, the kingdom spent more than $80 billion to promote Islamic activities in the non-Muslim world alone. This truly colossal sum has built a huge network of Wahhabi-controlled institutions, including over 1500 mosques, 150 Islamic Centers, 202 Muslim colleges, and 2000 Islamic schools in non-Muslim countries alone. (Alexiev 2011)

Unfortunately, far from all people around the globe stand against Wahhabism and its ideological twin, Salafism, which is manifested through the Islamic State and other organizations and movements that partially hinge on these totalitarian ideas.

 

Russia
Russia constitutes one of the largest countries and economies in the world, and like China and Saudi Arabia it is more or less authoritarian. Another current characteristic is its geopolitical expansions in for instance Ukraine.

Besides military hard power, influential Russians use soft power by the means of media channels such as Russia Today in order to spread an alternative world-view, different from the Western, pro-EU and pro-American counterpart.

This might be a relatively fruitful way to get both Western and other people more on the Russian side, or at least to have a more nuanced understanding of Russia and what it aims for both culturally, economically and (geo)politically.

 

South Korea
I have written serval posts on the Korean wave and explained why I do generally support its dissemination and proliferation.

However, I might add that the South Korean government – after recognizing the good financial results in the aftermath of the distribution particular TV dramas and k-pop – currently uses Korean wave products as means for national branding and consequently increasing revenues through tourism and export of Korean wave products, such as music, TV dramas, and food.

This will probably lead to – and has already to some exetent led to – a positive feedback relationship, since a probable consequence may be a better depiction of South Korea in the global community as well as more revenues; and the revenues can in turn be used for more investment in cultural products and their distribution, which may lead to even larger revenues.

It is also interesting that Chinese leaders are concerned about the vast popularity of South Korean celebrities in China. South Korea is definitely one of the big soft power players these days and constitutes a pop cultural alternative to both the US’ and Chinese products.

När det gäller nutida eller samtida koreansk kultur, är det ofta relevant att vidga vyerna eftersom den sällan kan förstås som isolerad från det som sker i övriga Östasien, USA och i viss utsträckning även andra länder och regioner. Dessutom kan det finnas kopplingar till aktuella saker som sker i världen. Detta inlägg utgör en sådan bredare utblick.

Begreppet soft power, eller mjuk makt på svenska, myntades av den amerikanska statsvetaren Joseph Nye (1937-) under slutet av 1980-talet och har blivit mer utarbetat i ett flertal böcker och artiklar sedan dess. Det handlar om att övertyga med hjälp av attraktion snarare än ekonomiska eller militära maktmedel (hård makt).

I detta sammanhang kan till exempel populärkultur spela en viktig roll, vilket har varit fallet med inte minst USA, som på närmast global nivå har spridit filmer, popmusik, tv-kanaler, snabbmat och mycket annat under 1900- och 2000-talen.

Nedan ges fem exempel på länder som kan sägas bedriva soft power i en mer löst definierad mening, om än delvis på väldigt annorlunda sätt.

 

USA
USA har varit världens ledande supermakt under cirka 150 år och är det alltjämt, även om Kina successivt lär komma ikapp både ekonomiskt och militärt. Detta land har också varit framgångsrikt i att sprida amerikansk (populär)kultur på många håll, till exempel filmer, musik, snabbmat och en mängd teknologiska produkter och företeelser.

Mycket av det som USA gör utrikespolitiskt kan visserligen kategoriseras som hard power, men populärkultur, liksom amerikanska politiska ideal och livsstilar, har onekligen attraherat många människor runtom i världen.

 

Kina
Kina har intresserat sig för mjuk makt under ett antal år, och har bland annat försökt bedriva detta genom att finansiera Konfuciusinstitut runtom i världen. Något tidigare har kinesiska wuxia-filmer och sommar-OS i Beijing år 2008 varit två företeelser som kan kopplas till kinesisk soft power-strävan.

Satsningen på att sprida kinesisk kultur i och genom akademiska sammanhang verkar dock ha fått visst bakslag i demokratiska länder som Kanada och USA eftersom det har lett till, eller tros kunna leda till, censur på institutionerna i fråga – känsliga ämnen som relationerna mellan Kina och Taiwan, Kina och Hongkong, och vad som hände på Himmelska fridens torg 1989 verkar inte vara tillåtet att belysa på Konfuciusinstituten, vilket leder till inskränkt akademisk frihet.

Det återstår att se om Kina kan hitta andra, alternativa lösningar och bli mer framgångsrika i detta avseende.

 

Saudiarabien
Den globala spridningen av wahhabism, liksom den mycket närbesläktade salafismen, har finansierats av saudiska oligarker sedan 1970-talet och framåt. Det rör sig om enorma summor, så mycket som 80 miljarder dollar enbart i icke-muslimska länder.

Wahhabism är en “modern” och fundamentalistisk form av islam som uppstod under slutet av 1700-talet och vars lära är synnerligen intolerant gentemot andra religioner, inklusive kristendom, liksom andra inriktningar och tolkningar av islam som till exempel shia och sufism.

Tyvärr verkar den trots det ha en viss attraktion bland framför allt unga män på många håll runtom i världen, vilket har kunnat skönjas i fråga om omfattande rekrytering till al-Qaida, IS och andra terrororganisationer-/rörelser som i stor utsträckning bygger på wahhabism eller salafism.

Idén om att som jihadist komma till ett paradis fullt av villiga kvinnor – till skillnad från de sexslavar som används i dag – kan utgöra en del av attraktionen, liksom viss grad av individuella maktanspråk och det meningsskapande som sker genom att vara en del av en kollektivistisk rörelse med högtflygande målsättning.

Ett litet tecken som dock pekar i rätt riktning – och om inte annat är det lite intressant kuriosa – är dock att en saudisk prinsessa gillar G-Dragon!

 

Ryssland
Ryssland har invaderat Krimhalvön i de östra delarna av Ukraina under 2014 och 2015, vilket förstås kan klassificeras som hård makt.

När det gäller mjuk makt har dock den välproducerade och engelskspråkiga nyhetskanalen Russia Today varit ett viktigt redskap för att sprida en alternativ och samtidigt mer positiv bild av Ryssland och samtidigt en mer negativ dito av västvärlden, framför allt USA och EU. Givetvis finns även amerikanska och västerländska motsvarigheter – Russia Today har i mångt och mycket uppstått som en motvikt till dessa globalt mycket inflytelserika medier.

 

Sydkorea
Jag har redan skrivit ett flertal inlägg om den den koreanska vågen och varför jag generellt stödjer dess spridning och behöver därför inte utveckla detta så mycket.

Man kan dock nämna att den sydkoreanska regeringen, delvis i samarbete med grannländer, försöker hitta nya sätt att attrahera konsumenter av koreansk populärkultur. Man kan exempelvis tänka sig ett större fokus på det koreanska köket framöver.

Noterbart är också att ledande kineser har oroats en del över att koreanska stjärnor får så mycket uppmärksamhet i Kina, till skillnad från de inhemska motsvarigheterna. En av de allra kändaste kinesiska stjärnorna är talande nog också en k-pop-artist, Victoria Song från gruppen f(x).

Dog meat consumption and dogs as pets in South Korea

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Recently, people – especially in Western countries – have used social media tools such as Facebook in order to protest against the dog meat festival in Yulin in South Central China at 22 June. A significant request has also been signed and sent to the government of Yulin.

As a Korean wave scholar, this is of some significance since one may try to learn as much as possible about (contempory) Korean culture in general. Additionally, Korean cuisine can be regarded as an integral part of a larger and multi-faceted Korean wave, and since this is related to national branding and image, one can hypothesize that the consumption of dog meat in South Korea will be downplayed or questioned by native Koreans in order to please Westerners. It might also be the case that since other East Asian populations – particularly Japanese and Chinese people – are the main targets for Korean cultural products, the opinions of Westerners are of less significance. Overall, this is not to be regarded as a big issue – at least as long as South Koreans do not promote similar events such as those in Yulin – and a large share of Westerners do nowadays probably associate the country in question much more with Samsung products and K-pop than this.

However, in conjunction with the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988, and the jointly hosted football World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002, the dog meat issue has been highlighted by Western media. Since the latest event took place almost 13 years ago, it is relevant to look into more recent studies on this phenomenon. One sigfinicant contribution is Anthony L. Podberscek’s article ‘Good to Pet and Eat: The Keeping and Consuming of Dogs and Cats in South Korea’ (Journal of Social Issues, vol. 65, number 3, 2009, pp. 615-632). I will briefly discuss some of its contents.

One may note that in all of Asia, ‘only’ about 13-16 million dogs and cats are eaten each year. Thus, even though one may see the dog meat festival in Yulin as an horrific event, it would be very misguided to regard Chinese people in general as large consumers of dogs, “It has been calculated that in Asia, about 13–16 million dogs and 4 million cats are eaten each year (Bartlett & Clifton, 2003).”

The same goes for South Korea. However, as the results from Podberscek’s study indicates, a significant share of South Koreans would not support a hypothetical national dog meat ban. South Koreans eat dogs for a variety of reasons, such as to be sociable, for the taste, and due to the belief that it has health benefits, and about 40 per cent do it occasionally. The idea of various health benefits is largely related to Confucianism:

According to Ann (1999, 2003a), the eating of dog meat has a long history in Korea, originating during the era of Samkug (Three Kingdoms, 57 BC to AD 676). It was not common after this period, though, as Buddhism grew in popularity and became the state religion during the Koryo Dynasty (918–1392). However, during the Choson Dynasty (1392–1910), Confucianism became the state ideology, paving the way for the return of dog meat as food. Indeed, Confucians enjoyed the meat so much that it was, according to oral tradition, nicknamed “Confucians’ meat” (Walraven, 2001). To justify this, Confucians pointed to the canonical authorization of the so-called Chinese Book of Rites, in which dogs are divided into three classes: hunting dogs, watchdogs, and food (Ash, 1927, p. 59; Walraven, 2001). During this period, dog meat was served in many ways, including gaejangguk (original name for dog soup; also spelt kaejangguk), sukyuk (meat boiled in water), sundae (a sausage), kui (roasted meat), and gaesoju (literally “dog liquor,” also spelt kae-soju; Ann, 1999). Kim (1989) found details of 14 different dog meat recipes for the period of 1670–1943. The consumption of dog meat has mainly been associated with farmers trying to maintain their stamina during the oppressive heat of summer (Simoons, 1994; Walraven, 2001). However, exceptions to this have been found. For example, in 1534, there is a reference during the reign of King Chungjong that dog meat was offered to a high official as a bribe, and in 1777, a reference was made to government officials going out to eat dog meat soup (Walraven, 2001).

These attitudes may have changed more or less in just the recent years, but dog meat consumption has unhesitatingly still persisted to a fairly large extent. Historically, dog meat has been distinguished from pet dogs, and similar to Japanese and Western people a significant share of contemporary South Koreans invest time and money in the caretaking of their pet dogs; cats are however seldom used as pets and are not looked upon as food (almost at all).

In relationship to Western and Japanese consumers of South Korean cultural products, one may suggest that South Koreans might want to downplay the dog meat consumption and instead highlight that certain dog breeds are used as pets and are not ill-treated. Chinese people in general will probably not be upset due to their neighbors dog meat consumption – instead it can be regared as evidence that Chinese culture has influenced smaller countries in the East Asian region – and might also be influenced by the ways that South Koreans treat their pet dogs. The reason for this suggestion is because of that Korean celebrities are highly regarded among a significant share of Chinese people, and it is not unusual that some of these walk around with their cute pet dogs. To take care of a pet dog may appear as cool, cute and cosmopolitan.

Lastly, I have also included a rather extensive quote regarding dog and cat meat consumption in a regional and global perspective, and on the objects of the study:

Today, the consumption of dogs and cats still occurs in a number of countries, including Cambodia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam (see Bartlett & Clifton, 2003; Podberscek, 2007), but the eating of dogs was outlawed in the Philippines in 1998 and cat eating was banned in Vietnam in 1998. In 1996, it was reported that dog meat was still being eaten in parts of Eastern Switzerland (De Leo, 1996). It has been calculated that in Asia, about 13–16 million dogs and 4 million cats are eaten each year (Bartlett & Clifton, 2003). The issue of eating dogs and/or cats is highly emotive, especially in countries (largely Western) where the practice has been extinguished for a long time or has rarely or never occurred (e.g., UK, USA). In these countries, the very idea of consuming a cat or a dog is viewed as abhorrent and morally corrupt. This is perhaps unsurprising, considering dogs and cats are mainly kept as pet animals. But in the countries where cats and dogs are consumed, these animals are also kept as pets (e.g., China and Vietnam; Podberscek 2007). The concern that people have about dog and/or cat eating manifests itself in the form of international campaigns calling for a ban. One country which has received an enormous amount of negative, international media attention because it allows the consumption of dogs and cats is South Korea. However, little scholarly literature exists on the consumption of dogs and cats in this country (or, indeed, pet ownership) and the attitudes residents hold toward consumption and pet ownership. The present study, funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), was designed to fill this gap. Firstly, historical and current information on the roles of cats and dogs as pets and food in South Korea will be provided. Secondly, the results of an opinion poll on what adult South Koreans think about dogs and cats as pets and as food will be reported.

De senaste veckorna och dagarna har den årliga hundköttsfestivalen i Yulin i södra Kina, som hade sin huvuddag under måndagen den 22 juni, hamnat i blickfånget, och lett till en våg av reaktioner på sociala medier och bland en del kändisar och djurrättsaktivister.

Det är framför allt västerlänningar som har upprörts av detta men i viss mån även människor från andra kultursfärer, inklusive kineser. Det mest upprörande torde inte vara hundätandet i sig utan de bestialiska slaktmetoderna och de dåliga förhållanden som hundarna – som ofta stjäls från hundägare – upplever innan de dödas för att säljas och ätas. Mest groteskt är när hundar flås levande och lämnas hudlösa för att dö i plågor. Med det sagt finns även en klar kulturell skillnad eftersom hundätande inte ses som legitimt eller knappt ens är förekommande alls i västerländska länder, åtminstone sett till de senaste århundradena. I samband med perioder av hungersnöd har dock en viss mängd och andel hundar ätits i Europa.

Noterbart är dock att det “bara” äts omkring 13-16 miljoner hundar och katter i hela Asien varje år med tanke på att det bor drygt fyra miljarder människor i denna världsdel, “It has been calculated that in Asia, about 13–16 million dogs and 4 million cats are eaten each year (Bartlett & Clifton, 2003).” Därför är det självfallet så att kineser i gemen inte äter hund i särskilt omfattande utsträckning. Det är viktigt att ha klart för sig, och det tror jag att många förstår.

Som akademiker med inriktning mot modern koreansk populärkultur (hallyu) har jag dock närmat mig frågan ur ett sydkoreanskt perspektiv genom Anthony L. Podbersceks studie “Good to Pet and eat: The keeping and sonsuming of dogs and cats in South Korea” (Journal of Social Issues, vol. 65, nummer 3, 2009, sidorna 615-632).

Ovan finns en del citat från denna studie och jag tänker inte gå in på varenda aspekt, men det man i all korthet kan slå fast är att ett hypotetiskt förbud mot hundätande i Sydkorea inte skulle stödjas av en majoritet vuxna koreaner. Cirka 40% av dessa äter hund vid åtminstone enstaka tillfällen, och en inte obetydlig andel har hundar som husdjur – man skiljer därmed mellan olika hundraser och deras olika funktioner.

Orsakerna och rötterna till koreanskt hundätande är flera, bland annat har idéer från neo-konfucianism – som har sitt ursprung i Kina – påverkat koreaner (och kineser givetvis), och innebär att man tror att kundkött kan förbättra potensen hos män och hälsan hos människor i allmänhet. Det finns alltså en koppling till en betydande andel koreaners nationella självförståelse och kulturella identitet. Även smaken och den sociala dimensionen i fråga om hundätande, liksom gemensamma måltider överlag, är något som också lyfts fram i sammanhanget. Det kan alltså vara trevligt att äta ett stycke hundkött tillsammans lika väl som andra rätter.

Kopplar man i sin tur detta till kineser kontra västerlänningars generella attityder och deras samband med vågen av koreansk populärkultur, kan man tänka sig att kineser överlag inte upprörs över att det äts hund i Korea – tvärtom kan kanske koreaners särskilda sätt att tillaga hundkött ses som intressant bland en del kineser – medan en betydande andel västerlänningar kan bli upprörda och få en sämre bild av Sydkorea som en följd av detta. Därför skulle man kunna tänka sig att sydkoreaner vill tona ner bilden av hundätande i relation till västerlänningar – och i stället lyfta fram att man har ett flertal raser som husdjur – men inte i relation till kineser eftersom det inte behövs. Möjligen skulle man dock kunna tänka sig att kineser blir påverkade av k-popstjärnor som har söta hundar som husdjur.

Men i och med att Sydkorea i dag mest är känt för Samsungprodukter och k-pop kan man också behöva betona att det här ses som en mindre viktig fråga (såvida det inte skulle anordnas en lika bestialisk festival i Sydkorea). I samband med sommar-OS i Seoul 1988 och fotbolls-VM i Japan och Sydkorea 2002 belystes dock frågan i västerländska, inklusive svenska medier. Och i den mån västerlänningar intresserar sig för koreansk mat så väljer man vanligen andra rätter än dem som innehåller hundkött – det finns många sådana att välja mellan, som kimchi, bibimpap, kimpap, amgyopsal, doenjang jjigae och många, många fler.

Avslutningsvis kan det även nämnas att koreaner inte äter katt, ej heller har katter som husdjur annat än i begränsad utsträckning. I djuraffärer i Seoul har jag dock sett kattungar, vilket framgår av fotot nedan som jag tog för drygt sex år sedan i samband med vistelse i huvudstaden.