"You're such a puppy"

After asking several Koreans about the word, "kitten" being a terrible, terrible word to use---it was then brought to my attention that "puppy" is profanity too!  Since I am getting this information through English as a second language, my understanding is a little foggy.  I do know that it is incredibly insulting and should never be used.  She mentioned something about how only in recent years, have dogs (and cats) been seen as pets.  With that, the offspring of dogs have never really been viewed the same way we do in many other cultures, who have viewed dogs as pets and companions for quite some time.

In Korea, dog is still served in many places, although it is not widely advertised.  Dog is seen as a delicacy and it is somewhat  of a prestigious thing---that if you can afford to order dog, then you are viewed as a person with means.  Not in every situation, of course---and again, my understanding is via second language, so don't quote me.  I also read somewhere that when the '88 Olympics were in Seoul, they asked restaurants that served dog to keep it less noticeable because it is offensive to westerners.  I must make a side note that the serving of "dog" is not something that many Koreans are proud of.  Many, many Koreans are embarrassed by it and find it really disturbing that this goes on.  So, I don't want to perpetuate any kind of rumors about 'all' Koreans eating dog, because the vast majority do not.  They are in the midst of a culture shift--and I think eventually it will be no more. 

So in conclusion, I have only gathered that off-spring of dogs and cats are not really seen as cuddly pets, but are more of disgusting little creatures that are messy & clingy, and up until recent times, as eventual food.  I think the evolution of the words, developed much the same way as the "b" word in English...through time, it turned into a derogatory word, but in the earlier years, it did not have the same effect as the modern day usage of the word.  I'll just relate it to the fact that if I were to try and explain to someone, via a second language, why the "b" word is a cuss word, I would have a really hard time trying to explain that.  In fact, I don't really know why it is an insulting word, I just know that it is.  But really, I guess when you think about any of our "cuss" words, a lot of them were not created as insults, they just evolved into that over time---even more extreme cuss words in modern day English, weren't originally bad words either.