Dog soup? That's how the North Koreans fight

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA.- The summer is not a good time to be a dog in North Korea.

In the intense heat, the main brewery of North Korea sells twice as much as usual, the people of Pyongyang do long lines to buy a "bingsu" – a shaved or granita- and restaurants serve dish after dish of the main culinary attraction of the season: spicy dog ​​meat soup .

Popularly known as "dangogi" or sweet meat, it has long been believed that the dog is an energy food in North and South Korea, and is traditionally eaten during the hottest period of time. l & # 39; year.

The dates are consistent with the lunar calendar, and dog meat consumption is centered around "sambok" or the three hottest days: July 17 and 27 and July 16, August this year . This year the demand is particularly high because of the heat wave that strikes East Asia . Temperatures in North Korea are among the highest ever recorded and are around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several cities.

Like almost everything in North Korea, there are no reliable statistics on the amount of dog meat eaten.

But in South Korea, where even President Moon Jae-in has dogs as pets, they slaughter and eat at least two million animals a year, even when their popularity as food is scaled down. Although many South Korean elders believe that dog meat is an aphrodisiac young people are against or indifferent to this practice, and there is pressure to ban it altogether.

On both sides of the demilitarized zone, dogs intended for human consumption are raised on farms for this purpose.

"This has been our national food since ancient times," said Kim Ae Kyong, a waitress at Pyongyang House of Sweet Meat, the largest dog specialty restaurant in the North Korean capital. " People believe that heat heals the heat so they eat dog meat and spicy dog ​​soup on hot days.This is healthier than other types of meat. "

The menu of the restaurant has more than a dozen dishes with dog meat including ribs, paws and boiled dog skin .

But the attitude of the North Koreans toward dogs is changing.

It is more and more common to see people walking their dogs with leashes in the streets of Pyongyang and other northern cities, a trend that has only recently begun to be adopted. However, in rural areas, it is common to see abandoned dogs .

The position of leader Kim Jong Un regarding the consumption of dog meat is unknown.

However, last January, he gave 30 dogs of seven different breeds – including a bulldog – to the newly renovated Pyongyang Central Zoo where dogs are exposed, as if they were wild animals. The zoo's dog center is, in fact, one of its most popular attractions and has posters detailing how to take care of the canines and feed them – .