Black Wagyu, or black cattle, is commonly known as a representative cattle of Japan, but it actually has a side that hurts Korea.
During the Japanese colonial period, Japan designated Korean cattle as yellow cattle and designated Japanese cattle as black cattle.
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| Jeju black cattle (original black wagyu) |
Under the pretext that the indigenous black cattle, native to Jeju Island, were being confused with the black cattle native to Japan, Japan exterminated Korean black cattle as a mongrel and exploited them for food and military purposes. The name "black cattle" was then taken to Japan and applied to the Japanese Wagyu brand, and the image of black cattle as Wagyu, or Japanese cattle, became entrenched overseas.
The important point is that the Jeju Island black cattle, stolen from Korea, became Mishima beef, a natural monument of Japan.
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| Mishima beef(Mishima ushi) but In fact, Jeju Island black cattle |
Today's Japanese Wagyu is a hybrid created by crossbreeding Mishima beef with Western cattle.
In fact, the black cattle is a Korean native black cattle that has lived only on Jeju Island since the Goguryeo period in Korea before Christ, and is a pure native breed that is three generations ahead of today's Japanese Wagyu.
During the Japanese colonial period, exploitation nearly brought the breed to the brink of extinction. After liberation, its growth was somewhat slower than that of the yellow cattle, making it less of a source of income for farmers.
This led to an even more rapid extinction. However, in 1981, Professor Moon Seong-ho, working at the Jeju Agricultural Experiment Station, discovered the last Jeju black cattle sire.
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| Jeju black cattle |
He attempted artificial insemination, miraculously reviving the Jeju black cattle in Korea in 1994.
Hanwoo (韓牛) refers to a native Korean cattle breed raised in South Korea.
There are four breeds of Korean beef.
한우 (Korean beef), 흑우 (Black cattle) , 칡소(Tiger cattle), Jeju black cattle(제주흑우)
