"The Fédération Cynologique Internationale is the World Canine Organisation. It includes 80 members and contract partners (one member per country) that each issue their own pedigrees and train their own judges. The FCI makes sure that the pedigrees and judges are mutually recognized by all the FCI members."

-from the FCI website

 
After there were people claiming to have Jindo puppies from "FCI champions," I wrote an inquiry to the FCI.  Here is their response.

(dated January 11, 2000)
 

Dear Madam,

We acknowledge recept of your letter dated Jaunary 2nd, arrived today.

Please find enclosed the standard no 334 of the Korea Jindo Dog.  This breed is still provisionally recognized which means that it may not be awarded the CACIB (CC). It has been accepted in 1995, normally the delay for an official recognition is 10 years.

Consequently, there is no list of Jindo Dogs having obtained an international award at this stage.

We hope this answers clearly your questions.

Yours sincerely,
Suzanne Marlier
Office Manager
 

UPDATE:

The Jindo will be allowed to compete in FCI shows, starting with the World Show that will be held in July 10, 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The parent club for the FCI in Korea is the Korea Canine Club.
 

STANDARDS COMPARISON:

The FCI standard was revised in 2004.  I like many of the changes.

Here is an overview of the changes:

• history was changed from several centuries to thousands of years.  My best guess is that this was to take into account paleological evidence of dogs in southwest Korea.
• the nose color was clearly defined.  The old standard did not state anything about nose color and without this detail, some judges might penalize a white dog for a pink nose.
• the color of the lips was changed to eliminate dark purple lips.  This is a change for the better as black skin pigment is highly desired in Jindos.  If a dog lacks black lips, it is probably seriously lacking in pigment in other areas.
• the eye shape was changed from triangular to almond.  YEAH!!!
• neck posture was changed from straighter to well-arched when the dog is excited.  This change provides a bit more clarity.  Straighter could imply that the dog is pushing the neck forward instead of higher.
• the limbs were clearly described as moderately angulated.  Before, there was really no mention and one of the biggest problem in Jindos today is lack of angulation, especially in the shoulders.
• the gait description was changed to emphasize powerful and steady.  This is a good change.
• the Jindo colors was re-written to be clearer.  This particular parent club approves solid blacks so blacks are included in the FCI standard.
• the faults were modified to reflect Korean dislikes of certain traits.  The dropped ears is a biggie.  The dropped tail is taken into account in Korean competitions, where when all dogs are physically equal, the more confident but not necessarily more aggressive dog is considered superior.
• the disqualifying fault of "overly shy" instead of "shy" might be rooted in the idea that some judges would mis-interpret aloofness for shyness.
• aggressiveness was added as a disqualifying fault.  It's a good addition, but I don't know if the writers of the standard intended it to be inclusive of dog-aggressiveness.