The Crazy Korean Food that We Eat !!!!

Out of all the crap that I've done in Korea, people at home to seem to be ultra curious about the food. As you know, Korea is notorious for serving almost anything that moves... its second to only China for serving the most seamiest dishes.

They even serve dog!

They have a special breed "Korean Dog" that they breed specifically for eating. They don't just snatch a dog off the street or hit up the humane society for some fresh meat. Last month I saw a truck that had about 15 small cages in it. Each cage contained Korean Dog... they are pretty much treated as cattle here. The Korean people say they look so ugly, but I think they look really cute! You also have to go to special "Dog Restaurants" to eat them... you can't just go to the restaurant down the block... there are no surprises. These dog restaurants are also quite rare in Korea. No kid has ever admitted to me that he has ever eaten dog. I was told that just the old, old Korean men still eat the cute (but apparently quite delicious) dog meat. They believe that eating dog is good for virility and stamina. I was told by a friend that, traditionally, they used to beat the dogs with a bat before they slaughtered them. They did this so the meat that is consumed shortly afterward would be filled with adrenaline and the meat would be more tender and taste better. It was thought that the man eating the beaten dog would absorb this adrenaline and could therefore "preform" better in the sack! I was told that it no longer happens, and the dogs are treated humanely. The story of why Korean people eat dog is actually quite sad...

Because of the extreme poverty and persecution under the Japanese Occupation, and then the poverty that resulted from the Korean war, meat was difficult for the average person to afford. As a result, they resorted to eating cheap meat- e.x. dog. As of late the economy has done tremendously well, but apparently, once you get a taste for dog (like the blood of moral humans) you will never be able to stop consuming it. Perhaps this is the reason why adults won't feed their young children this addictive delicacy (this is just my non-sensical opinion though). Ohh yeah... I used the word delicacy... nowadays it's considered just that and apparently its pretty expensive! I was told by another foreigner that If you eat dog other dogs, because of their keen sense of smell, will be able to smell the consumed dog in your pores, and that they will hate you with their whole soul, and they will instinctively do one of two things... run as far and as fast as they can away from you or ferociously attack you like Bush on Sadam !!!

There is an old saying that I was told by a Korean about the Chinese that could almost be applied to Koreans as well...

"They eat everything in the sky except the planes,
They eat everything on land except the buildings,
They eat everything in ocean except the submarines!"

It's totally true!

Pictured above is by far the grossest thing I have consumed from the sea... It's name, GAYBUL...

In Korea the seafood is so fresh and delicious. If you walk down your block your guaranteed to see at least one restaurant that has many large aquariums packed full of seafood that you didn't even know existed! They have live eels, big fish, small fish, squids, octopus, king crab, sea errchant, and ... the most disgusting, revolting, thing ever witnessed in the sea... GAYBUL... It pretty much looks like a giant uncircumcised penis. It has no eyes and just kind of squirms around like a worm in the sea! Most foreigners squirm at even the sight of such a hideous thing!

One night some other foreign English teachers and I walked past a restaurant with a tank full of the freaky penis shaped abominations of the sea ... one of the teachers dared me to eat one. I said that I would eat one if they ate one.

We agreed to meet the next day to do the deed.

It was a lot grosser then expected! The Korean people actually eat those disgusting creatures raw. They just fish them out of the tank, gut them and slice them into tiny pieces, and serve completely raw. I swear they had just stopped twitching before we chowed down. It tasted bad... real bad. Definitely the worse thing I've tried from the sea since I've been to Korea. I think me and some of the other teachers are going to try the live octopuses next. You actually eat them while they're still alive. I hear that you have to chew them real good so the tentacles don't choke you... you'll never guess what the worse thing I've eaten on land was...