SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - The alley of dog meat restaurants in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was quiet on Tuesday lunchtime, one day before Chobok — the first of the three hottest days in the traditional Korean lunar calendar.
A few years ago, the street would have been packed with diners around this time of year.
This is the last summer South Koreans can legally eat dog meat.
Under the Act on the Ending of Dog Meat Consumption, the breeding, distribution, and sale of dogs for food will be fully prohibited from February 7 next year. More than 80 percent of dog farms have already closed, causing wholesale prices to spike and pushing the price of a single bowl up by roughly double in just six months, according to restaurant owners.
Some establishments are converting to black goat restaurants or other alternatives, but many remaining traders say the impending ban poses a serious threat to their livelihoods. The summer dish, once sought out by some as a seasonal health tonic, is on course to disappear from Korean tables for good.
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