Why State Media Is Urging North Koreans to Eat Dog Meat Soup in the Heat
As a punishing heatwave grips the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s tightly controlled state media is offering an unusual remedy: dog meat soup. State television reported Thursday that Pyongyang hit 36.7°C, the highest temperature since the capital began keeping records, and in the following days, outlets rolled out a coordinated campaign of culinary advice and leader worship.
The ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun quoted a Pyongyang General Hospital doctor recommending watermelon, cucumbers and mung beans alongside “nutritious” dishes such as dog meat soup, fish porridge and red-bean porridge. A separate article revived a folk saying that even a splash of dog meat soup on your foot during the hottest days becomes medicine, noting a national dog meat cooking competition took place earlier this year.
State news agency KCNA praised samgyetang, a ginseng-stuffed chicken soup, reporting that Pyongyang restaurants were drawing customers seeking heat relief. Korean Central Television also aired segments on hydration, swimming and outdoor exercise during the extreme heat.
South Korea has tallied more than 20 heat-related deaths, but North Korea has released no casualty figures. Instead, media reports repeatedly returned to a familiar propaganda theme: Kim Jong-un’s willingness to share the people’s suffering. The Rodong Sinmun recalled a 2013 construction-site visit where Kim’s clothes were drenched in sweat, a 2018 trip through steep mountains and torrential rain to pick a hot-springs resort site, and a visit to a seafood canning factory when temperatures supposedly reached 39°C, with Kim inspecting sweltering fermentation rooms while stressing food quality.
Kim Jong-un’s Heatwave PR: Tradition, Leadership, and Propaganda
A Traditional Cure with a Propaganda Twist
Dog meat soup has long been considered a restorative in Korean folk belief, eaten during sambok—the three hottest periods of summer—to combat heat-induced fatigue. By amplifying this custom, state media reinforces an image of the regime honoring local tradition while offering practical guidance in a country where electricity shortages make air conditioning a luxury for most. The mention of a national dog meat cooking competition suggests the government is actively sustaining the practice, blending food culture with a narrative of communal resilience.
The Kim Leadership Myth: Suffering Together
The flood of archival anecdotes about Kim Jong-un braving extreme weather serves a clear political purpose. Portraying the leader as someone who sweats alongside workers, refuses to cancel field inspections during heatwaves, and prioritizes projects for the people creates a bond of shared hardship. These stories are recycled precisely when ordinary North Koreans are most uncomfortable, offering an emotional anchor and deflecting potential discontent over infrastructure failures or slow crisis response.
What’s Not Being Said: Missing Data and Contrasts
Noticeably absent are any official numbers on heat-related illnesses or deaths. Neighboring South Korea has disclosed more than 20 fatalities with similar weather, but Pyongyang’s silence on casualties leaves a one-sided picture of a state successfully managing the crisis. The selective use of traditional foods and Kim’s sacrifice narrative fills the information vacuum, steering public attention away from the regime’s capacity to protect its population from extreme weather.
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