In South Korea, some savour last season of legal dog meat

For decades, the three days of summer considered the hottest of the year were among the busiest for South Korea’s dog meat restaurants, as diners sought traditional stamina-boosting foods to endure the heat.
The third “boknal”, or hot day, of 2026 on Friday carried an added sense of finality. It was the last before a nationwide ban on the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs ‌for meat takes full effect in February 2027.
At the Moran Market in Seongnam, once the country’s best-known hubs for dog...