By In-Soo Nam as published in the Wall Street Journal
Abhorrent Cultural Differences Put Off Western Tourists
Once an elegant companion animal reduced, here, to an appetizer for a thrill seeking tourist – photo Wall Street Journal
On South Korea’s Jeju island, the expression, “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse,” can be taken literally.
On this resort island, off the south coast of the Korean peninsula, horse meat is a popular delicacy, with people enjoying it raw.
Although a taboo food in some cultures, tasting horse is part of the to-do list for many foreign tourists, says Hyun Bong-suk, who runs a horse-meat restaurant in Seogwipo, a bustling city in the southern part of the island.
“Foreigners don’t visit Jeju just for horse meat, but when they come here, they want to have a chance to eat it. And many of them say they enjoy it. Horse beef, when served in raw, is sweet, tender and low in fat,” he said.
Other than Koreans, Mr. Hyun said, Chinese tourists are the biggest consumers of horse meat at his restaurant, followed by the Japanese and Europeans, including the French.
Horse farming on Jeju started in 1276 when Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan brought over some 160 horses by ship, historians say. Initially, horses were raised as a means of transportation, but later the animal became used for culinary purposes, they say.
As the number of tourists visiting Jeju has increased, so has the number of horse-meat restaurants. There are currently about 50 restaurants serving the product on the island. Just a decade ago, there were 15 or fewer, according to Mr. Hyun.
For most Jeju tourists, however, the horse is known as a form of entertainment. That is, horse-back riding or racing.
Early this year (which just happens to be the year of the horse), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs designated Jeju as the nation’s first special zone for the horse industry.
The ministry has earmarked 5.7 billion won ($5.3 million) this year for building more facilities for horse farming, training and riding for tourists on Jeju. That’s up from 1 billion won in 2013.
A ministry official said the increased budget won’t likely be used to promote the consumption of horse meat.
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Categories: Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Proslaughter WalMart Journal…..oh forgive me its walstreet, right? This is why I keep talking about this on my Western Shop Facebook. An ever present we would stand for slaughter attitude has to be there, because these articles confuse people about the argument purposefully. And I Know that proslaughter will constantly use manipulation to achieve at least publicity. I just had to remove people from my shops consignment bay because they allowed their old horse to emaciate, while trying to buy a new car, breeding puppies…their own account, texting me they Refused to get a veterinarian for the horse and it died. They had been tired of my comments of being against proslaughter, so I had them remove themselves and their items. What a relief they have gone. I am so sick of the Faces of slaughter supporters and the horses in their care are in Bad condition. They are avoiding animal regulators by moving around alot. And they were Upset at US? When do proslaughter remove rosecolored glasses and quit puppy milling, spouting propaganda and keeping sick, debilitated animals without vet care??????????????????????
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We will Always be against Horse Slaughter at our shop, Period. With the leaving of that couple yesterday I will note we do lose profits however, when we r fully reopen Yesterday we Gained an Entire Farms Sellout of more tack, saddles, and new harnesses to sell than ever before…they r antislaughter and we will doing their Liquidating Sale in August. So its Pays to be antislaughter.
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I just want to say how much I appreciate the stand you take with these cretins you come in contact with at your shop.
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they never will they don’t see what they’re doing as being wrong. however I am so sure that it’s a relief to use to be rid of them. I most certainly would be. kudos to you Colts Western shop.
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The article says horseBEEF??? WTF? Wonder if they do any DNA testing of what they are serving tourists…
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Totally disgusting Practice , barbaric and downgrades the meaning of human !!!!! !!!!
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If you still eat beef (cow), imagine what a devout Hindu thinks of you.
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Sue, I think I get your point here but you aren’t comparing apples and apples, and I doubt a Hindu would approve of many western practices, not just those concerning food.
Nobody here is talking about killing and eating cows protected by Hindus, just as we should not need to talk about killing and eating horses protected by an assortment of humane laws and not raised as food products.
This article references a vibrant recreational and racing horse industry, so it seems the supply of this raw meat is likely laced with some toxic cocktails.
For anyone who thinks shipping tainted meat abroad is fine since we don’t eat in in the states, here is a prime example of a foreign eating experience which for all we know could include tainted meat shipped from the Americas. Bon appetit!
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how sick can you get ride your own dinner plate , now i have to apolagize to my sister for commenting on her strange tastes , i don’t care to much for different fish dishes, but she makes me sick when she eats smoked fish, yuk.
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Horses are not raised or regulated for food and the meat is toxic why would they be eating it. Totally disgusting is right! They ought to spend more time enjoying them like riding them. They do not deserve to be eaten they have earned a life as to how much they have done and still are doing for mankind! Stop killing them!!!
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I left a comment aimed at the woman named Patty saying she would like to sink her chompers into a horse fillet. I reminded her that that just might be a dog fillet not horse. How would she know with the amount of seasoning that is put on it? I couldn’t let the ignorant comment this person said go without mentioning the dogs and cats that are always cooking on the stoves.
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If read carefully, the article would indicate horses are raised to eat in Korea. If that is true, those are likely not full of drugs. But – – – considering all the other things they eat in Korea, I’ll stick to being a vegetarian, thank you.
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