Just thought I should mention this...
I'm thinking about getting a kitten. I suppose at this point it's progressed a bit beyond just thinking. Kylie and I are going to look for one today. It all depends on the cost really, at this point. The thing is, cats are really not popular in Korean culture. I've only seen one or two feral cats since I got here (which, as I mentioned before, is a huge switch from Israel). Anyway, the place we're going to have to go to look for a kitten is Moran market. It's one of the few large scale animal markets. And they're not selling all these animals for pets. The thing that makes me the most nervous is that this place is I think one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) seller of dogs for dog meat. Before I came I knew that Koreans eat dog meat. But everyone has assured me that it's a specific breed of dog bred for eating. However, the pictures I just saw online seem to contradict this. I'm not sure how well I'll handle this. Kylie IS going with me - and I am depending on her to keep me from buying as many dogs as I can just to save them - which I don't think I would actually do, but when I'm there and see it - and the cases of refrigerated dog meat on the cages of the live dogs.... - shudder - not sure about the whole thing really.
A brief aside - in Ethics class at BCF, we had to pick an issue to write a paper about and debate with someone else in the class. I suggested animal rights, and Bethany and I were fortunate enough to be paired for the debate. The paper only had to be 10 pages, but with the appendices it ended up being 33 I think. (I know, I know.) I felt very strongly about it at the time. I noticed the change first after I had been in Israel for a few weeks or a month. Reading the newspaper there is enough to change one's perspective on such a matter. I found that the issue of animal responsibility (a term and perspective I preferred all along to the traditional "animal rights") had receded into the background of my mind. When there are such human rights violations abounding all around you - the separation wall, checkpoints, the West Bank and Gaza, the prejudice against Arabs, etc. the plight of animals is remarkably less important. I think it's ironic, and speaks much about the stubborn insistence of my heart to think only about what affects me directly or relates to my interests (the plight of dogs and cats sold for their meat) when actual human suffering - severe human suffering - is just a stone's throw away. The DMZ is 40 miles from Seoul. Pyongyang is 119 miles from Seoul. And still my heart is broken over dogs and cats being sold for food. The more I live, the the little I grow up, the more I become
of my appalling lack of perspective.
And it is on that, sad but eye-opening note, that I am going to go get ready to go to the market. I'll let you know how it goes.
