Dog ain't that crazy !!

DOG - poor little fifi (Gaegogi 개고기)

In Korea you can find dog meat for sale in most areas, it's a delicacy. In fact, most restaurants that serve dog meat are considered high class and the price of dog meat is pretty steep. Some Westerners turn their nose up to the dish immediately - thinking of their beloved childhood pet. Some could argue that we Westeners are missing the point... what is the difference between a dog and a pig (pork)? Both animals are of reasonable intelligence and both can be had as pets. 

The only difference between dogs and other animals (such as a pig) is westerners have a connotation with dogs as being mans best friend. . . but surely almost any animal on earth would love to be mates with us.... We're great!!!! We provide warmth, food, water, give them attention and provide them with stability and companionship. Sometimes we even scratch their balls for them. 

When talking dog meat, there are five types of people in this world:

• The people who don't give it a second chance and tuck into dog meat without any thought - the adventurous sort 
• The people who have mental connections to a childhood dog pet but decide to eat the meat - usually these people draw the conclusion that it is the emotional connection with the individual creature that would stop us from eating 'our friend' (and thus keep human kind from being savages) - the thinkers
• The kind of people who reject the offer of dog completely, feeling that dog is somewhat of a sacred or special creature - the loyal
• The people who would like to try dog but can't force themselves. This is okay; know thy self - the inbetweeners 
• The people who refuse to eat any type of meat - vegetarians, the compassionate (or 'pansies' - as my Grandfather and much of his generation call people of this sentiment). Once again, no big deal; know thyself. 

Regardless, as this blog is discussing strange food, we will move on. Dog ain't that crazy. 

Street Bugs (beondegi 번데기)

These are most usually sold on the street in small tubs and the smell is very... er.... distinctive. They are pretty cheap and taste like they smell. To a large portion of westerners in Korea they taste disgusting but, Korean's or other foreigners must dig them as they are ubiquitous in Korea - you can't walk 5 minutes in most urban areas without seeing them for sale. In fact, it is loved so much that it is even sold in cans at supermarkets. 

With regards to the strangeness - they ain't that strange. We all ate a bug or worm when we were growing up. 

To categorise people by this food:

• The people who jump at the challenge and 'chug' the entire tub of bugs in one - the adventurous type that want to do everything they get the opportunity to do. 
• The people who eat one or two of the bugs and throw the rest away - people who either want to prove to themselves that they are adventurous; or the type of gal/guy who just wants to experience the taste. 
• The half chewers - people who will put half of a bug in their mouth and chew it to see if they like the taste. More often than not westerners do not like the taste so the half eaten bug is spat out and the rest of the tub thrown away. 
• The nay sayers - people who just say no. They have nothing to prove and do not want to revert back to misspent youth. 

Octopus - (nakgi 낙지)

Most westerners find this food alarming when they first witness it being eaten. The octopus is kept alive right until consumption. It's legs are cut off in front of you and then you eat the legs, whilst they are still moving (the legs are still moving due to electronic spasm - similar to when a chicken has its head cut off.)  You can, if you want, as then chef (if you can call the person that - they don't really cook anything though) to give you the octopus alive and you can devour the whole thing alive. This was done in Korea's famous movie 'Old Boy' - see video below. 

To cast people by Octopus eating:

• The people who ask the chef to leave the octopus whole, they eat the octopus alive - the kind of person who loves to live on the extreme side.
• The eat the legs and sometimes the head (eye balls included), but they ask for it to be killed first. Bearing in mind, the legs are still twisting all over the place - these people are still extreme, just not as extreme as the ones above. 
• The people who place a tentacle in their mouth and eat it slowly - they enjoy the feeling of the leg moving in their mouth. They too are adventurous, but eating this food is more about ticking it off their list of things to do. 
• The people who will sample one leg only and will make several strong compressions of their mouth - to minimise the feeling of the moving tentacle. 
• The people who will try a little bit - usually these people will spit the leg out after two or three chews as the it doesn't stop moving. These people want to experience the 'live octopus tentacle', but aren't wholly committed. 
• The people who say no - sorry to use this line again but.... this is fine, know thy self. 

 This food is the craziest food in all of Korea.