24 May 2024

World Dog Alliance visited Seoul, capital city of the Republic of Korea, in late May where in a series of meetings our founder Genlin met and held discussions with National Assembly Members Ms. Han Jeoung-ae and Mr. Park Hong-geun on the one hand, and with prominent animal protection groups KAWA (Korea Animal Welfare Association) and KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates) on the other.

In the meetings, ideas were exchanged over important topics such as initiating the “International Agreement to Prohibit the Eating of Dogs and Cats”, introducing the subject of animal protection into school text books and placing animal protection laws into the Korean constitutions. WDA is delighted that these topics received very positive responses from all the parties we met in this trip.

Ms. Han Jeoung-ae was one of the original sponsors in the National Assembly of the special bill to ban dog meat, which received staunch support from the cross-party Animal Welfare Forum, co-founded by Mr. Park Hong-geun. KAWA, founded in 2000, is one of the largest animal protection organizations in Korea and who has campaigned vociferously for a ban on dog meat. Their contributions were instrumental in the successful legislation of the special bill to ban dog meat consumption, which was passed into law on 9 January 2024.

WDA was joined in this visit to Seoul by former US Congress Members Mr. Jeff Denham and Mr. Rodney Davis, both of whom are long term partners of WDA.

WDA will continue its work in South Korea, whose legislation in banning dog meat is setting a great example for Asian countries with a history of eating dog meat.