How South Korea fell in love with dogs and banned their slaughter for meat

Animal rights activists hold placards outside the national assembly in Seoul welcoming the bill banning the dog meat trade. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

Like most young South Koreans, Annie Ko rarely ate dog meat, but her annual visits to a restaurant serving the dish did little to trouble her conscience. And she was only vaguely aware of the international criticism that led to last week’s vote to ban the breeding, slaughter and sale of dog meat in the country.

It was when she volunteered as an interpreter for Humane Society International that her views on eating dog meat – a tradition some claim goes back centuries – changed dramatically.