Screening of The Cove 코브 (The Cove) 상영Screening of The Cove- seoulsite.com

Fifty years ago, Ric O’Barry thought nothing of trapping and capturing dolphins, acts which went on to amuse a generation in the hit TV show Flipper. Five decades on, and O’Barry has mended his ways, this time giving the world the docu-drama The Cove, in which the bloody trade of dolphin hunting in Japan is brutally exposed. Japan traps at least 20,000 dolphins every year, some of which end up on the dinner plates of the wealthy, others snapped up by aquariums for exorbitant sums.

To raise awareness and funds for the drive to bring a halt to the trade, The Blue Dolphins, a monthly live music showcase, is staging an event called Dolphin Friendly at Roofers Bar in Itaewon on March 27, when a screening of The Cove, released last year, will be shown.

Sponsored by Green Korea, organizers hope to draw attention to the fate that awaits both dolphins and whales – many of them endangered species – around the world in the face of often cruel and brutal fishing practices.
In addition to the showing of The Cove, there will be a presentation by Green Korea representative Boram Bae, a sale of homemade cookies and smoothies from which proceeds will be directed into the Save Japan Dolphins campaign. Other entertainment on the night will include comedy and lives music.

Ijin Jang, the event organizer, told how there was a quite specific reason for the selection of music to be performed on the night. “Dolphins love music as they are very sonic creatures,” she explained. “I heard that they especially enjoy drumbeats. That’s why we prepared a special percussion performance to celebrate the dolphin spirit. All the participating artists – musicians and comedians – will play a dolphin theme in tribute to dolphins.”

Activist Bae highlighted the example of Korean laws and attitudes toward whaling.
“I’m going to talk about the Korean case at the event. Korea bans whaling of all whale species, even small whales under 4 meters (dolphins) which are allowed for whaling elsewhere in the world,” she said. “The local government and fishermen of Ulsan, a traditional whaling port city, claim that the law should allow at least a partial dolphin hunting as they are a direct threat to fishery.
“Also, whale meat has been eaten as traditional food in this area. There certainly is a difficulty in changing minds of people when the whaling issue is directly connected to their livelihood and cultural tradition.”

The slaughter hundreds Calderon dolphins at Feroe Iland in Denmark.

The Cove, of course, focuses on one small fishing village in Japan, Taiji. But the hunt practice takes place across the country, and elsewhere in the world in countries such as Norway and Denmark. One of the main points of contention in the campaign to stop the dolphin killing is the manner in which the slaughter is carried out. Justin McCurry, writing in the The Guardian newspaper, last year described how the waters off the town turned from emerald green to a deep crimson red, the air acrid with the nauseating smell of mammal blood as he watched a killing scene unfold.

The dolphins, he said, were driven into a cove and the next day under tarpaulin covers they were stabbed to death with knives.

The Japanese, meanwhile, see hypocrisy in those who leap to the defense of the dolphins – which are not covered by the ban on commercial whaling instituted in 1986. They say westerners slaughter cattle in inhumane ways, and defend the practice of dolphin hunting as part of their centuries-old culture.

For more information on the event, contact jerbyerl@hotmail.com. The Cove screening begins at 9 p.m.

Written by Bryan Kay