Gangdong-gu Leads the Way in Creating a Proper Pet Culture... How?

District promotes creating a city where people and animals live happily together... Free operation of various pet-related educational content including visiting apartment dog training and training professional dog behaviorists

Last month, on-site training for pets at Godeok Gracium Apartments

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) is actively promoting pet policies to create a city where people and animals can live happily together.

Opened in November 2017 as the nation's first urban-type abandoned animal adoption center, the 'Reborn Center' is leading efforts to solve the problems of abandoned and lost animals and foster a proper pet culture by removing prejudices against traditional animal shelters.

So far, it has returned over 480 abandoned and lost dogs to their owners and saved precious lives through public adoptions. It also operates various educational programs such as dog socialization training, animal schools for elementary students, and youth vocational education in the pet sector.

In particular, the 'Gangdong Seodang' dog socialization program, launched in 2017, is a popular district education program with over 700 participants to date, and applicants often have to wait their turn to join.

This year, in line with the growth trend of pet-related industries, Gangdong-gu applied for the 'Seoul Job Creation Contest' to provide future-oriented vocational education opportunities and create jobs, linking the 'Dog Behavior Specialist Training Course' with public services for operation.

They also provide socialization education public services for dogs and their owners by directly visiting apartment complexes and other multi-family housing to resolve dog-related conflicts.

The 'Visiting Multi-family Housing Dog Education' program, which addresses problematic behaviors such as dog noise, biting, and waste disposal occurring within apartment complexes, can be applied for by each complex and is conducted in unused communal spaces.

Resident satisfaction with the program is quite high, and there is hope for an increase in the number of sessions.

The 'Dog Behavior Specialist Training Course,' held twice a year in the first and second half, is free for youth aged 18 to 39. Trainees are selected through document screening and interviews. Recruitment for the second half course is in July, with training running until December.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, “We plan to continue systematic education to establish our city as one that respects life where people and animals live together harmoniously. We encourage participation from interested youth and pet owners.”

Detailed information about the educational programs can be found on the Gangdong-gu Abandoned Animal Adoption (Reborn) Center website or by contacting the Social Economy Division’s Pet Team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.