Gyeonggi-do Opens Nation's Largest 'Banryeomaru' on the 11th... Kim Dong-yeon "Leading Animal Welfare for a Coexistence Society"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is attending the opening ceremony of Yeoju Banryeo Maru on the 11th and taking a commemorative photo with the attendees.

Gyeonggi Province opened ‘Banryeomaru,’ the nation’s largest complex cultural space for companion animals, on the 11th.

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, attended the opening ceremony of Banryeomaru located in Sanggeo-dong, Yeoju City, and said, "Banryeomaru is the largest and best-built facility in the country, but more valuable than that are the values held by Banryeomaru and Gyeonggi Province such as love, consideration, respect, coexistence, and living together." He emphasized, "With these values, Gyeonggi Province will take the lead in animal welfare and living together with companion animals."

He continued, "We are planning to make the ‘Zone B’ within Banryeomaru a space where our companion animal owners and their pets can run and play by September next year," adding, "Until now, we have focused on managing abandoned animals, but from now on, we have plans for anyone to come and enjoy time with their companion animals, which will also help the local economy of Yeoju, so please take an interest."

Governor Kim Dong-yeon shared an experience before the event, meeting a dog named ‘Dongju,’ saying, "In early September on a weekend, many people including our staff, volunteers, and animal protection groups worked hard for the children living miserably at a breeding farm in Hwaseong. I was there from the first day as well." He recalled, "We named a small puppy only three weeks old Dongju (Kim Dong-yeon + 3 weeks old). The puppy, which looked very fragile and weak, is now lively and beautiful, which is adorable and heartwarming."

About 150 people attended the event, including Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Lee Chung-woo, Mayor of Yeoju City, members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, related companion animal organizations, adopters, and volunteers.

Banryeomaru was completed in August 2022. The site covers an area of 95,790㎡ and includes one cultural center, three shelter buildings, and one management building. It provides services such as abandoned animal protection and adoption, operation of an animal hospital, life respect education, grooming and training, and runs programs for training professional companion animal personnel.

In the future, to foster the companion animal industry, Banryeomaru plans to support university field training, hold industry-academia recruitment briefings, and operate companion animal cultural festivals.

A playground where companion animals can freely run and a picnic zone for residents to relax will be added next year.

The name Banryeomaru was selected through a public contest in April, expert review in May, and a public vote, meaning ‘a space where companion animals gather and communicate.’

Gyeonggi Province widely promoted the name Banryeomaru and held ‘Another Family, 2023 Gyeonggi-do PETSTA’ on June 3 to foster a healthy companion animal culture, where the naming contest awards ceremony was also held.

As Banryeomaru is jointly operated by local governments and the private sector, it is a facility that secures both public interest and expertise, providing reliable professional services. In particular, it is expected to improve animal welfare through abandoned animal protection and adoption, life respect education, and professional personnel training.

In September, Gyeonggi Province and animal protection groups collaborated to rescue puppies abused at a breeding farm in Hwaseong City. Among them, about 580 puppies were transferred to Banryeomaru, where they live until they meet new families. As of the 9th of this month, 77 puppies have found new families.

Meanwhile, on the 10th, Gyeonggi Province announced the ‘Gyeonggi-type Companion Animal Welfare Policy’ for the happiness of both people and animals, presenting the vision of realizing ‘Gyeonggi Animal Welfare (animal welfare).’

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