A national Phungsan dog show was held at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang on Nov 19-20 at the time when Phungsan raising is all the rage in the DPRK.

Phungsan, an indigenous dog of Korea with a history of 5 000 years, was designated as the national dog of the DPRK in 2014 and the number of people keeping the dog has grown ever since.

Presented to the show, called “Korea’s national dog of Phungsan show-2019”, were more than 70 dogs that were highly rated at provincial shows.

Despite the chilly weather with winter near at hand, owners of the dogs and many other people thronged into the zoo. Among them were whole families from local areas far away from the capital city.

At the show grades and rankings were decided by examining the qualitative indexes of the dogs and their physique, poise, mobility, alertness and pedigree which were divided into more than 20 detailed items.

They were judged by members of the Korean Zoology Society of the Central Committee of the General Federation of Science and Technology of Korea.

According to juror Choe Kyong Sik, the standard dimensions of the dogs were as follows: the lengths of females and males were respectively 55-58cm and 57-60cm, their heights 47-49cm and 49-52cm, their breast depths 20-22cm and 21-23cm, their breast widths 15-16cm and 16-17cm, their girths 63-66cm and 66-69cm and their weights 18-22kg and 20-24kg.

“Phungsan dogs have been presented by every province to this show and almost all the dogs are up to the standards. This shows that the country is rich in the Phungsan resources and can produce excellent indigenous dogs in succession. It is not easy to decide the rankings, and jurors will have to enhance scientific accuracy in judgment,” said Ok Jin Yong, chairman of the Korean animal husbandry and veterinary technology association of the Central Committee of the General Federation of Science and Technology of Korea.

All the dogs presented were rated as first, second and third classes and three of them came first, six second and twelve third.

The first placers were four-year-old male Paekkom presented by Kim Un Ha from Kim Hyong Gwon County, Ryanggang Province, three-year-old female Yuwol by Ri Hyang Rim from Taesong District, Pyongyang, and two-year-old male Phungsan by Kim Kwang Myong from Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province.

“It’s my first visit to Pyongyang and I’m very happy as my dog won the national show. The win of the dog from Phungsan’s native county is not only my joy but the pleasure of all the people of my county who love the indigenous dog more than anyone else. I will work hard to raise it better,” said Kim Un Ha.

The owners of the winners were awarded diplomas along with breed registration certificates.