Bosintang (variously also known as Boshingtang, Boshintang, Poshingtang, Poshintang and other variations on the theme) is a South Korean soup having as its primary ingredient dog meat. It is made from a specific breed of dog that differs from those breeds that are kept as pets. The meat is boiled well together with many kinds of vegetables and seasoning for a long time. The taste is enhanced by the addition of garlic, ginger, Welsh onion, some kinds of herbs, perilla seed and hot pepper.

Bosintang first came to Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period. Because ancient Korea was a agricultural nation, and a society had a hierarchical class. The lowest class people usually were poor, and rarely had eaten meats. So, dog meat was eaten as tonic food in the hottest three days per year because oxen were very important necessities in a agricultural society.

In South Korea, bosintang is not an everyday dish. People traditionally see it as a tonic and consume it mostly at the three days among the hottest days of the year. Thus, in ancient Korea, the lowest class people had eaten dog meat and highest class people had eaten very young hen meat. In North Korea, consumption is said not to be particularly high during that time.

-------From puppybeef.com------