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Shiny black pigs too tiny for dinner table

Published: 09 Oct. 2009, 20:06

Lee Seok-tae, head of Songhak Farm, poses for a photo on Sept. 22 while holding two of his Korean native black pigs that were born eight days earlier. By Kong Jeong-sik

By Song Yee-ho
Lee Seok-tae, 60, head of a 30,000-square-meter Songhak Farm in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, is busy breeding pigs - including some 400 that are black. Though he has 4,000 pigs on the farm, only those 400 are native to Korea. Fortunately for them, they are raised for research.

Korean native black pigs are known to have been first raised in the northern area of China during the period of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. They are relatively small and have shiny hair, narrow faces and ears that seem to stand up.

“In the past, there were many black pigs in Korea that were small but delicious. However, such Korean black pigs begin to hybridize after black Berkshire pigs were imported around 1900,” said Lee. “After Korean independence from Japanese colonial rule, white Yorkshire pigs flowed into Korea. As time went by, our native black pigs started to disappear.”

Lee also said that many people focused on productivity, not taste, in breeding pigs at that time.

“I begin to consider restoring and nurturing Korean pigs when I was an undergraduate,” Lee said.

He was a livestock farmer after completing studies in animal genetics and breeding at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang.

In the early 1990, Lee started to make plans to raise native black pigs with a help from fellow university colleague, Yeo Jeong-su, 59, who is an animal genetics and breeding professor.

Since 1992, Lee toured various locations, including Jeju, Namwon in North Jeolla and Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang, to collect native pigs.

Lee established the same bloodlines through five generations by crossbreeding. He excluded ones that either had different hair color or genetic characteristics.

Yeo began research on the original DNA markers of the native species in 1996. Later, the professor found eight genetic traits that match with that of local black pigs. Since 2005, Lee has bred about 4,000 native black pigs. In order to preserve them, he sent some to the Livestock Research Institute in North Gyeongsang.

He tried to introduce those species by selling some in restaurants because they are tasty, and, he contends, healthy. He says research shows that native species contains less cholesterol and a lot of unsaturated fatty acids.

“I left some pigs for the purpose of breeding while the remaining were changed to hybrid species,” Lee said. Those can still be consumed.

He noted that the pork from local black pigs does not cost more than ordinary pork, unlike Korean beef, which is more expensive than imported beef.

But the pigs grow very slowly, and Lee has faced difficulties in selling the meat.

The head of Songhak farm said hybrid pigs usually are put on sale after their weight reaches 110 kilograms (242 pounds) when they are five months old. But Korean native black pigs weigh only 80 kilograms even after nine months. Native black pigs have disadvantages in terms of productivity because of their slow growth.

“I have tasted pork from many countries but our pork is the best. Someday, there will be a time when many Korean people prefer to eat pork made from native black pigs like Korean beef,” said Lee.

By Song Yee-ho [[email protected]]