During the Olympics, shine a light on South Korea's dog-meat industry

Dogs are shown locked in a cage at a dog meat farm in Goyang, South Korea. (Jean Chung for HSI)

Hosting the Olympics gives countries the opportunity to highlight their culture and garner international prestige. Governments pour money into sprucing up infrastructure to shine the best possible light on their nation. South Korea is no different in trying to sweep a dirty secret under a temporary rug: the dog meat industry.

Throughout South Korea, diners can order dog salad, dog ribs, dog stew and dog hot pot. But during the Olympics, the government is offering monetary incentives to restaurants located next to the Olympic Stadium and near other key Olympic venues to get them to stop serving dog meat. South Korea is also asking food venues to take down or cover up signs that advertise it.


Nearly all the restaurants have refused. Similarly, dog-meat farms near where Olympic events are taking place have no plans to relocate or temporarily close.

As a woman of half-American and half-Korean heritage, I don't want the dog-meat industry to remain a secret. While the eyes of the world are on Pyeongchang, the 2.5 million dogs who are killed for meat each year in the country deserve for their miserable plight to be made known.

Above the nearby cheers for athletes, visitors may not hear the harrowing cries of hundreds of dogs being kept in filthy cramped cages awaiting their fate. Most of the dogs are emaciated; their bodies may be covered in sores. The stench of feces and urine is overwhelming. The "lucky" ones die before they are beaten to death, electrocuted, burned or have their heads smashed in.

While older generations of Koreans still believe that dog meat will give them increased virility, younger people know better and are shunning it. Increased advocacy by groups like C.A.R.E. are pushing the practice of eating dog meat into sharp decline.

Many families, like mine, never did and are happy to see dog-meat sales tumbling. Dogs and cats are increasingly being viewed as companions, and the number of households with a dog or cat has increased to one in five. Even South Korean President Moon Jae-In adopted a dog saved from a dog-meat farm. Volunteer groups work to rescue the dogs and shut down the farms.

Massive international events like the Olympics — and the media attention that comes with them — present an opportunity for millions more people to learn about the dog-meat trade and work to end it. Athletes and attendees are adopting dogs and signing up to be "flight volunteers," shepherding dogs rescued from the industry to adopters in other countries.

Adopting a dog rescued from the dog-meat industry is, of course, admirable. But everywhere in the world, animals with just as much personality and the will to live suffer on their way to the plate.

Adopting a South Korean dog saves one animal, but adopting a vegan diet saves more than 100 animals every year. When the conversation turns to the dog-meat trade, as it will over the next couple of weeks, we must honestly reflect on the billions of pigs, cows, chickens and other animals raised their entire lives in hideous, cramped conditions on factory farms. The pain and terror animals experience in U.S. slaughterhouses are similar to dog slaughter operations. They all deserve to live.

Trahan a senior social media strategist for PETA.