Korean Visitors Told to Beware of Seoul Food

When you take away a doggie bag from some restaurants in Seoul, it means just that--there’s dog in the bag.

So reports Granville Watts of Reuters, advising readers what to expect if they plan to attend the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea.

Watts: “The South Korean government ruled last year that dog soup restaurants, called poshingtang , should be shut down to present a better image for foreigners, but the establishments still flourish.”

What kind of meals are served?

Watts: “The menu is the same for all, a large boiling pot of dog ribs served with sesame leaves and seeds, followed by plain boiled rice washed down with soju , a potent colorless liquor made from potatoes.”

Watts said more than one foreigner has told him: “It tastes just like beef.”

Dog meat isn’t the only food that has been officially banned. Watts said the government also has banned the serving of snake, earthworm and other exotic Korean dishes.

But that’s another story. Meanwhile, more soju , please.

North Carolina State basketball Coach Jim Valvano, a walking conglomerate, told NBC’s Al McGuire: “I got my mother to submit 330 recipes for an Italian-food cookbook. I told her she gets 5%. If she wasn’t my mother, it would be 2 1/2%.”

Trivia Time: What do Doug Tewell, Buddy Ryan and Joe Dial have in common? (Answer below.)

From former quarterback Pat Haden: “I believe the best quarterbacks in the NFL are from the South. They just don’t care as much as we city slickers. Guys like Ken Stabler, Terry Bradshaw, Bert Jones. It’s kind of like, if this doesn’t work out, well, we can just go fishing. But us city slickers, we throw an interception and we’re thinking, ‘Oh, no. There goes the mortgage.’ ”

As a postscript to Bob Oates’ story on Paul Hornung Monday, here is what the Golden Boy did in Notre Dame’s 42-20 loss to USC in 1955 at the Coliseum, illustrating his ability to do it all: He completed 10 of 22 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown; carried 9 times for 95 yards, a 10.55 average, and scored twice; set a USC opponent record with 354 total yards; did all the punting and placekicking.

The next year, in a 28-20 loss to USC, he returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Lou Holtz likes to play it for laughs, but there’s nothing funny about his off-season workouts for Notre Dame players.

Said quarterback Steve Beuerlein: “Right off the bat he told us we would have our conditioning at 6:15 a.m. twice a week. Getting up at that hour is a pain. But I’ll tell you one thing, seeing guys getting sick and throwing up really gives you a feeling of unity.”

In 1982, Darrell Robinson of Tacoma, Wash., set a still-standing high school record of 44.69 seconds in the 400 meters. He hasn’t equaled the mark since, and when asked why, he said he spent too much time chasing girls instead of records.

Promising to rebound this year, Robinson said: “I’m not competing to be second best. I want to be No. 1, the best. If I can’t be, I’ll get a job, wear a tie and take the earrings off.”

Trivia Answer: They all went to Oklahoma State.

Quotebook

Ellis Clary, Minnesota Twin scout: “I once scouted a pitcher who was so bad that when he came into the game the ground crew dragged the warning track.”