“We hope for a culture of vegetarianism on particular days…”
Animal welfare organizations have unanimously recommended adopting a vegetarian diet for the upcoming “Boknal,” also known as the “dog days” of summer, which refers to the hottest days of the season.
Animal rights organizations, including Korea Animal Rights Advocates, Korean Animal Welfare Association, and Humane Society International (HSI) Korea, report that meat demand, particularly for chicken, spikes during July and August each year, coinciding with boknal. It’s estimated that around 70 million chickens are slaughtered in July alone.
The number of animals suffering in factory farming also increases to produce the demand for more meat. Tens of millions of farm animals are raised in overcrowded conditions and exposed to heatwaves to accelerate their growth.
Chickens bred for enhanced size due to breeding often face increased mortality rates if raised for more than 30 days, leading to slaughter before reaching that age. A chicken’s natural lifespan averages around 20 years.
Korea Animal Rights Advocates appealed on Instagram, explaining that the chickens are often consumed as fried chicken and that Samgyetang is actually a 30-day-old chick. They called for efforts to minimize animal sacrifices during boknal. The organization further suggested enjoying summer delicacies like mushrooms, seasonal vegetables, cold bean-soup noodles, and fruit punch. They emphasized the significance of striving towards veganism and highlighted the importance of various citizen movements to reduce animal consumption.
Korean Animal Welfare Association emphasized, “Reducing meat consumption is the easiest practice to reduce animal suffering,” and suggested cold bean-soup noodles, red bean porridge, and perilla seed noodle soup as a vegetarian meal for boknal.
The Korean Animal Welfare Association spokesperson stated, “Nutrition experts also advise that modern individuals, who typically consume high-protein and high-calorie diets, should reconstruct their diets to align to have a healthy summer. Opting for a harmless vegetarian meal can provide essential nutrients for my body and reduce the number of suffering animals.”
HSI is campaigning to encourage dog meat farm owners to transition their businesses. Since 2015, HSI Korea has supported 18 dog meat farms in transitioning their operations towards humane and sustainable practices such as crop cultivation and irrigation management.
Lee Sang Kyung, the team leader at HSI Korea, stated, “Consumers in Korea are increasingly pursuing healthy plant-based diets. Agricultural businesses related to vegetables and fruits would better ensure the livelihoods claimed by dog farm owners than farms focused on meat production.”
Meanwhile, the vegetarian market in South Korea is experiencing notable growth. According to the Rural Development Administration, the domestic plant-based alternative food market is projected to reach 280 billion won (approx. USD 200 million) by 2026. Since 2022, the Korea Tourism Organization has introduced the first vegan-customized fam tour featuring vegetarian cuisine.