Animals

Writing about the treatment of animals in Korea can be a little tricky, since mistreatment of animals is not just specific to Korea, and it's hard to guage whether it's even worse here than anywhere else. However it certainly is more noticeable here, perhaps because there's less support networks for the animals, or because the denser population here makes poorly treated animals more visible. In any case, there's a high percentage of foreigners in Mokpo who have taken in a stray animal to get it healthy and away from a sad situation.

My dog Miso for example was a stray, abandoned at 3 months and found by our friend wandering the streets.
He was dirty, hungry, and terrified of everything. I'm pretty certain he had been bought at a pet store, since his breed is quite commonly found there. Shannon and I also think he had a great deal of trauma, mostly involving peeing or pooing. It took us months to get him properly used to excreting outside, and we often would wait for an hour somewhere, only to give up and have him pee in the house as soon as we opened the door. He would shake and urinate whenever a Korean person would come near him, and even now, a year later, he still doesn't deal well with Koreans.

A good friend in Mokpo lives near a market that she walks through often on her way home, and has now taken in about 6 cats she's found being sold in the market. They're kittens actually,
usually hardly a month old, are given a little rice each day, no milk, and no other kind of care. They're tied on short strings, and are often half-dead in their cages. Of the last 2 that were rescued, only one survived.

A few of us have mentioned that paying - yes, you have to pay for these poor starved kittens - will only encourage more kittens to be put through such an awful ordeal in order to make money from people (generally foreigners). It's probably true, but then some people, like my friend, just can't help but try and make a difference when they see these sad creatures.



Veterinarians unfortunately aren't always a lot of help. We've met a few Koreans who feel that being a vet is a good job and choosing it as a career should have little to do with love of animals. Our vet speaks great English, but Shannon and I have decided he really doesn't care for any animals' well-being. He often neglects to find proper treatment for Miso, and when Shannon and I find what's needed, he mentions how he knew that already, doesn't bother to look at our dog for any
illnesses, and carries on his way. That kitten I mentioned earlier that died, our vet looked at him - well he didn't actually look, he just glanced - and said the cat was fine. 3 days later a more accomplished vet said the cat should have been on an IV and had a heat pad the whole time, and it died shortly after.

Conversations with Koreans haven't yielded a lot of success at bringing out the emotions so many westerns associate with animals. Generally they say animals are just animals, and while it's a sad situation they often must endure, they're not concerned enough to do anything about it. The following was the worst I've heard about this yet.

A teacher in town was walking to school and noticed a pile of garbage bags had something scurrying through it, and decided it was probably rats. 2 days went by of this scuttling, yet she never actually saw a rat, just movement amongst the bags. Finally curiosity got the better of her, and after 5 days, she dug through the garbage and found a puppy tied to a pole at the bottom of it. It had been there at least the 5 days she had noticed it, but the rope it was on was so short it had been stuck under the garbage pile the whole time.

She took it to the vet who asked why she saved it, as obviously someone wanted to get rid of it. He was even more surprised when she wanted to clean it up, get it healthy and take care of it. There's a strong "why bother" mentality here, with very few opportunities for disadvantaged animals to survive. When the one shelter I had heard of for animals shut down (no funding), it was predominantly foreigners who intervened to save as many of the animals as possible. I've cut animals loose from short choking ropes because they were given no food; I've changed the routes I walk to and from work to avoid the distressed dogs or cats tied up on the sidewalks; and while I've never actually seen it, I've heard horror stories of the trucks of dogs being sent to slaughter.
I hesitate mentioning the dogs, since a truck of dogs here is no worse than an overflowing truck of pigs or cows at home, but it does strike a different chord in my emotions given the feelings I have toward canine creatures.

Regardless of how it is here, animal abuse does happen in other places, including Canada, so I don't want to sound too damning of Korean culture. It's much more in your face here though, and there's much less help for animals in need. Miso was the last thing Shannon and I really needed to add to our lives while here in Korea, but I am pretty happy we did. His ears are too big, he can't go 5 minutes without some form of attention or affection, but he's happy now and feels safe with us, and I'm glad we were able to do that for him.