during the 1988 summer olympics in seoul, the south korean government urged its citizens not to consume dog meat in order to avoid bad publicity during the games, along with a request to butcher shops not to hang dog carcasses in the windows. it also closed all restaurants serving "gaejang-guk" to better improve the country's image to western visitors. a 1998 salon article reported that despite officially being banned by the government for a decade, nearly 20,000 restaurants at the time were still serving dog meat. south korea's successful bid to join the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) in 1996 prompted a new wave of criticism against its dog meat culture. activists argue that as whale meat consumption declined in japan after the 1964 summer olympics, south koreans should reduce their consumption of dog meat.