HELL ON EARTH FOR DOGS IN KOREA – Send a prewritten letter
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Ieri alle 13.20
IDA Alert (slightly modified by me):
www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/questions.html
COMMON QUESTIONS
1 - The eating of dogs and cats is a tradition in Korea; who are you to pass judgment on another country's cultural practices?
The practice of eating dogs gained popularity after the Korean War due to widespread starvation. It grew in popularity after reconstruction because dog dealers and restaurants began to falsely claim that eating dog meat was healthy. In reality, the trade in dog meat has more to do with reaping profits than any sort of tradition. Sadly, however, the custom has spread to the next generation of Koreans who did not live through the war and believe without questioning the myths passed down by some elders. In some cases, young Koreans eat dog meat in an effort to rebel against what they view as westernization of their country.
2 - Aren't dogs considered food animals in Korea anyway?
Dogs are well-loved animals in Korea and many people keep dogs as companions. A small portion of the population does view dogs as food animals. However, regardless of what is viewed as their "purpose" in Korea or elsewhere, it cannot be denied that dogs, like other animals, are capable of feeling pain and suffering. It is unacceptable that they should be kept in filthy crates, forced to watch one another be bludgeoned to death. It is illegal in Korea and we should stop short of nothing to ensure that existing laws are enforced.
Although cats are not as commonly kept as companions in Korea as dogs, there is a growing trend for Koreans to recognize cats as caring, sensitive creatures. Cat supplies are more widely available in "pet" stores in Korea than ever before.
3 - There are dogs and cats suffering in the U.S. Why don't you start with those here first?
Sadly, there are animals suffering all over the world, and IDA is doing everything in its power to end all animal abuse and suffering.
4 - If people are starving in Korea, they should be able to eat dogs and cats.
Eating dogs and cats is no answer to starvation. The majority of Koreans who eat dogs and cats do so because they believe it will improve virility, not because they are starving. In fact, according to the World Bank, South Korea has recently had tremendous economic success "experiencing rapid economic growth and significant reductions in poverty." The South Korean Marketing & Market Research News recently stated that the country maintains a "high standard of living and relatively little poverty." If you are concerned about the starving, you should support a vegetarian lifestyle, as so much of the grain that is produced in the world is used to fatten animals up for meat that if we all went vegetarian, there would be enough food for the entire world to eat.
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Those of us who care so deeply about our fellow beings can't allow this agony and terror to continue for "man's best friend." That's why we're asking for your help today in two important ways.
Write letters to Korean Officials urging them to enforce the Animal Protection Act.
Write to:
Hwa-Joong Kim
1, Joongang-dong
Gwacheon-si, Kyoungki-do
Republic of Korea 427-721
Park, Han-soo, Minister of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry
Gwacheon Government Complex
Joongang-1 dong
Gwacheon City, Gyungki-do
South Korea
Tel. :(822) 500-1501~2
E-mail: minister@maf.go.kr
His Excellency Han, Myeong Sook, Prime Minister
Blue House 1 Saejong-Ro
Chongro-Ku
Seoul 110-050
South Korea
Republic of Korea
Tel.: 011 822 770 0011
Fax: 011 822 770 0295
E-mail: m-opm@opm.go.kr
Ambassador Lee, Tae-Sik
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
2450 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202)939-5600
Fax: (202)797-0595
E-mail: korinfo@koreaemb.org
OTHER EMBASSIES
Please, look for your country here:
embassyworld.com
or here:
www.embassiesabroad.com
ADDYS BLOCK:
webmaster@president.go.kr,webmaster@korea.net, minister@maf.go.kr, m_opm@opm.go.kr, m-opm@opm.go.kr, + YOUR AMBASSADOR
SAMPLE LETTER TO SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIALS
Dear President Lee, Dear Ministers, Dear Ambassador:
I am horrified at the continued torture and consumption of Korea's companion animals.
Even with the Korean Animal Protection Law for cats and dogs and a Ministry of Health Law banning the consumption of dog-meat soup (boshintang), dogs are still beaten, electrocuted, skinned alive and slaughtered by the thousands for boshintang while cats are still beaten and boiled alive for rheumatism remedies (goyangi soju).
PLEASE IMMEDIATELY ENFORCE THE FOLLOWING:
The Ministry of Education’s requirement to introduce and maintain a public education campaign to teach modern, internationally accepted general-care knowledge of cats and dogs, including the importance of spay-neuter surgery and to address the many unfounded Korean myths surrounding their species.
The Ministry of Agriculture's duty of office to outlaw the slaughter of cats and dogs as well as their "passing the buck" to the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health's duty of office to uphold and enforce Korea's current law which bans dog-meat soup, as well as their "passing the buck" to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The allocation, through the Ministry of Finance, of reasonable budgets to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Health to carry out their official responsibilities on behalf of not only cats and dogs, but other animals as well.
I WILL NOT BUY KOREAN GOODS, SUPPORT KOREAN BUSINESS, OR VISIT KOREA UNTIL KOREANS STOP EATING DOGS AND CATS.
Signed,
Your name
Your address
OTHER THINGS WE CAN DO:
1) Write to Korean Auto Manufacturers asking them to use their influence to urge the Korean Government to enforce animal protection laws.
A list of Korean Companies to urge the government to enforce laws:
Hanwha International Corp. (Trade Specialists)
Joong Lim, CEO
2559 Route 130
Cranbury, NJ 08512
Tel.: 609-655-2500-729
E-mail: jblim@hanwha-usa.com
Korean Air
Choo Choong Hoon, Chairman
1813 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 300
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Online Comment form:
www.koreanair.com/local/na/eng/ld/btm/fb/feedback.jsp
Korea Telecom America
Jong Yoon, President
111 Charlotte Place
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Tel.: 201-541-7910
E-mail: yoon@ktamerica.com
LG America (Chemical Manufacturer)
Ki-Ho No, CEO
1000 Sylvan Ave.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Seyong Park
Tel.: 201-816-2970
E-mail: seanpark@lge.co.kr
Ding-Jin-Oh, CEO
Tel.: 201-229-4000
Fax: 229-4029
Tel.: 201-229-4163
E-mail: sapark@sea.samsung.com
SK Telecom (Mobile Phone Service Provider)
Kil Seung Son, CEO
140 A New Dutch Lane
Fairfield, NJ 07004
Tel.: 201-791-2522-16
E-mail: dkim@skcpg.com
2) Organize a Protest
IDA will provide free posters and leaflets (http://www.idausa.org/ir/materials/pdf/KDbrochure06.pdf ) o any activist interested in organizing a protest at their local Korean Embassy or Consulate, or Korean Car manufacturer, such as Kia or Hyundai. It is important that the Korean Government be made aware that the American people refuse to buy product from a country that will not enforce its own minimal laws regarding the welfare of animals. Click here to contact IDA's Korean Dog Program Coordinator:
www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/kristie@idausa.org
3) Sponsor an advertisement in a Korean-American publication in your area
The majority of Koreans do not eat dogs and want to differentiate themselves from those who do. Click here to see IDA’s advertisement calling on Korean-Americans to write the Korean government, asking that they enforce the Animal Protection Act, which bans the illegal torture and slaughter of dogs for food:
idausa.org/campaigns/korea/KD_ad_small.pdf
4) Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
If your local newspaper writes an article on the Korean Dog Campaign, keep the issue current by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Click here for a sample letter to the editor (http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/sample2.html), or if you’d like to write your own, see "Talking Points" below. Be sure to keep the letter under 200 words and include your name, address, and telephone number so the newspaper can contact you for verification.
Talking Points
Two million South Korean dogs are electrocuted, strangled, or bludgeoned to death each year. They are killed in the cruelest ways imaginable, because many Koreans believe the adrenaline that rushes through the system will improve virility.
The practice of eating dogs is not widely accepted in Korea. It gained popularity after the Korean War due to widespread starvation. The practice continues to thrive with the aid of greedy restaurateurs, meat dealers, and butchers.
Dogs are well-loved animals in Korea and many people keep dogs as companions. However, we must take action to stop the small contingent of people who blithely ignore the law and continue to abuse these innocent beings to make money.
It is unacceptable that dogs and cats should be kept in filthy crates, forced to watch one another be bludgeoned to death. It is illegal in Korea and it is the Korean government’s responsibility to ensure that anyone who breaks their laws be strictly punished.
Eyewitnesses have reported dogs being torn apart while still alive, their tormentors saying that the more prolonged the torment of death, the better the taste. This attitude toward any living being is at best deplorable.