It's a wog-eat-dog world over there

Hopkins: He’s what’s for dinner tonight!

Okay, that’s an attention-getter headline (using a term which usually refers to Indians and Middle Easterners, once derogatory, but now, according to Wikipedia, considered an acceptable term, at least in Australia), but it puns, so I’m going with it.

I was struck by this article I saw just now about Jay Leno, and how he apologized for joking about Koreans eating dog meat.

During the filming of an [America’s Got Talent] segment, Leno joked about a painting that featured Simon Cowell surrounded by dogs. Leno joked that the dogs looked like something one could find "on the menu at a Korean restaurant" — much to the chagrin of "the very few Asian staffers" on the show. The comment was later edited out of the episode.

Guy Aoki, founding member of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, allegedly threatened Leno's new run, however. The LA Times reports that Aoki planned to launch a boycott against the new show if Leno didn't issue an apology to Asian Americans.

Leno apologized and took it one step further by giving Aoki a personal call.

"After the Zoom meeting, Jay called me back and said, ‘I want to do whatever I can to get back the respect you once had for me,’" Aoki said. "And that meant a lot to me. And then he ended up calling me back 20 times. We had a lot of time to talk about stuff."

But what’s to apologize for? In fact, Koreans do eat dogs, and they do serve man’s best friend in restaurants. That may or may not offend Western sensibilities, but I figure it’s the Korean’s (and Obama’s) choice. Heck, some people like cilantro.

What does offend me is the endless extension of wokeness so that we’re now expected to apologize for pointing out facts which might embarrass the listener; for all I know, Muslims don’t like hearing about female circumcision and honor killings, or New Guineans are squeamish about discussing cannibalism. There’s no accounting for tastes, but that shouldn’t mean we can’t mention them.

From the link:

Yes, dog meat is available in South Korea for consumption, however it's important to note that there are other countries which also eat dog, such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, and many more. But, each year, more locals are opting not to consume dog meat.

If the thought of eating dog is unconscionable to you, you may need to do your due diligence before going out to eat. Definitely reconsider buying that unmarked meat kebab being sold in the city square.

Many restaurants will serve a dish called "bosintang", which stands for "dog meat soup". It's a popular dish in South Korea, and is said to act as an aphrodisiac for men.

If you're unconcerned about whether or not to eat dog meat, it's recommended you go to a decent restaurant and try the dog meat soup for a taste of South Korean popular culture. 

So yes, they eat dogs, to the tune of a million-or-so a year, according to USA Today.

About 2.5 million dogs are raised in South Korean dog farms each year. About 1 million are killed and eaten. The rest are used for breeding with many dogs dying because of the farms' high mortality rate, according to Humane Society International, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for animal protection worldwide.