Bosintang

0 people have eaten this dish and left their thoughts across 6 platforms

Synthesised from Google · Yelp · Reddit · 3 food blogs · Updated August 2026

The story the reviews tell

Bosintang is a Korean soup built on dog meat simmered with green onions, perilla leaves, and dandelions, then seasoned with doenjang, gochujang, perilla seed powder, and agastache rugosa. The broth carries a historical claim of boosting virility. What was once unremarkable in Korean food culture has become deeply divisive—a 2020 survey found 83.8% of South Koreans have never eaten it, and legal restrictions on dog butchering now define the landscape around this dish.

What makes this version distinct

Bosintang (Korean: 보신탕, South Korean name) or tan'gogikuk (단고기국, North Korean name) is a Korean soup (guk) that uses dog meat as its primary ingredient. The meat is boiled with vegetables such as green onions, perilla leaves, and dandelions, and flavorants such as doenjang, gochujang, and perilla seed powder. It is seasoned with agastache rugosa before eating. The soup has been claimed to provide increased virility. The dish, as with all dog meat consumption in South Korea, has become highly controversial in recent decades. There are now a number of significant legal restrictions around the butchering of dogs. According to a 2020 survey of South Koreans, 83.8% have never eaten dog meat before.

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