South Korean students’ exchange visit to US city nixed over dog meat tradition

Ganghwa county planned to send 12 high schoolers to New Jersey’s Palisades Park to experience a different culture for three weeks

The city ditched the programme after coming under pressure from US animal rights who highlighted South Korea’s infamous dog farms

The Korea Times
Published: 11 Feb, 2023

South Koreans protest in a cage against the selling and eating of dog meat in Seoul. File photo: AFP

A proposed programme for high school students of Ganghwa county, Incheon, that would send them to the US borough of Palisades Park, New Jersey, for foreign language and culture education, has failed to get off the ground due to negative public opinion there regarding South Korea’s tradition of eating dog meat, which was raised by animal rights activists in the US, according to county officials on Friday.

The county planned to send 12 high school students to the US borough with which it has maintained friendly relations since 2020 to engage in the programme.

The programme aimed to give South Korean students opportunities to learn English and experience a different culture for three weeks. It was originally expected to take place in December.

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However, last June, Palisades Park abruptly informed Ganghwa county of their intention to suspend cooperation regarding the programme, stating that the decision was unavoidable as it faced negative public opinion due to South Korea’s dog farms, where dogs are raised for meat, in Ganghwa county.

US animal rights activists who learned about South Korea’s dog meat farms via social media reportedly asked the US borough’s authorities to cease its exchanges with the Korean county.

An official from Ganghwa county expressed regret over the failed programme, saying that it was a result of cultural differences.

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“The tour programme was changed to take place in Thailand, and efforts to do further exchanges with Palisades Park will continue,” the official said.

While in modern South Korea societal attitudes towards animals are shifting, with a high proportion of the population keeping dogs as domestic pets, the country’s infamous dog farms and dog meat restaurants are still operating.

This article was first published on The Korea Times