As fall descends on Jeju Island and the horses come in from pasture to eat the hay dried over the long summer months, the locals have for many years chipped in to butcher a horse for parties where they share the meat.

The island is no isolated example of cruelty: gourmets everywhere have started to appreciate the pleasures of horse meat. In the Koryo era, pony meat was food for kings, but until the 1980s horses were primarily used to help work the field or for horse racing or riding. But now, gourmets value horse meat again, not least for its relatively healthful properties compared to other meat. For Jeju, the delicacy has become yet another tourist attraction, especially for visitors from Japan.

The Jeju Livestock Cooperative Federation estimates that 507 horses were butchered between the beginning of this year and September, close to the 564 recorded for the whole of last year. It also estimates that some 1,800, three times the number approved, were butchered privately. That is theoretically illegal, but it is such a venerable practice in Jeju that no one takes issue with it. The surge in horse meat consumption led to more horse meat restaurants, whose number jumped from 16 in 2003 to 40-50 this year. An official with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province says a three- or four-year-old horse weighing 350 kg is priced between W2.5-3 million (US$1=W935) and the bones alone are worth W1 million. "Unlike cows or pigs, horses are killed directly by their owners when there is demand,” he adds.

That is why horse meat is rarely available in department stores or ordinary butcher’s. Horse meat restaurants butcher their meat on certain days -- some on Tuesdays and Thursdays, others on Mondays and Fridays. On those days, they are crowded with connoisseurs who come to enjoy fresh horse meat, from uncooked liver to seasoned and plain raw meat. As the trusty mares become popular food, imported ponies from China and Mongolia are making their way into the market. Some 10-20 percent of the horses butchered in Jeju are imported, estimates say. But gourmets insist on indigenous horses from Jeju, even if the imports are half the price.

Donguibogam and the efficacy of horse meat

According to historical materials, Jeju pony meat was one of the primary tributes brought to the king every winter. Early in the reign of king Sejong, the demand for pony meat suddenly grew so high that the king forbade its use except for at banquets given in recognition of the services of Chinese envoys. The Donguibogam (Treasury Book of Eastern Medicine), one of the definitive texts of Oriental medicine, states, “Horse meat is good for treating neuralgia, arthritis and anemia.” Another medical reference book of the time, Bangyak Happyeon, also sings the praises of horse meat.

“As it cools the body and has a calming effect, it can be beneficial for people that are easily excitable, or suffer from a weak heart,” it explains. The meat’s glycogen content is four times that of milk, increasing bone density and making it especially popular with consumers with osteoporosis or similar conditions. As the belief that horse meat consumption helps people to grow taller is spreading, so is the popularity of the meat. Analysis by the Rural Development Administration’s National Institute of Subtropical Agriculture shows that the meat contains 8.2 percent palmitoleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid: over three times the amount found in pork (2.8 percent) or beef (2.6 percent).

Palmitoleic acid is a major component in sebum that protects the skin with its anti-bacterial function, and stimulates the pancreas, thereby increasing insulin production. This is one of the reasons why the ponies of Jeju, though small, are considered very valuable.

What to do with horse meat?

Countries like France place horsemeat above beef because it is more tender. There is practically no Korean meat dish that cannot be made with horse: Yukkye-jang, Kalbi-jjim, Deungsim-gui -- they all can be just as tasty or more so. Gourmets who enjoy raw meat especially prize minced raw meat and liver. NISA has published a cookbook of 14 Korean, seven Japanese, 11 Western and seven Chinese recipes. “We’ve been holding various events for the last two years to promote the consumption of horse meat, including sampling parties in Seoul and elsewhere,” it says.

(englishnews@chosun.com )