The picture we showed you an hour ago is of South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, and some Jindo puppies, the breed of her own dog. The Jindo is Korea’s 53rd National Treasure (so named in 1962) and is so iconic in the Korean national identity that Jindos were marched out during the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The Jindo is named for the coastal island to which it is native, and is safeguarded under the Cultural Properties Protection Act. They are renowned for their unwavering loyalty and devotion to their masters. Originally bred as hunting dogs, these pups travelled in packs, catching and standing over their prey while one returned to guide their owner to the same location. The obsession with Jindos may be rooted in the recent legend of Baekgu, a Jindo dog who, after being sold to a new owner 160 miles away from its original home (across a water barrier) returned seven months later, exhausted but delighted to reunite with his original owner. He remained at his mother’s side until he passed away, and was later memorialized in the village with a tombstone, a bronze statue and a stone monument inscribed with “Growing children should learn from the loyal white dog.”
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 17:00:01 +0000
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