'Gyeonggi-do Pet Star' Attendee Kim Dong-yeon: "Hope Pet Events Spread Across Korea"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (third from the right) is attending the '2024 Gyeonggi Pet Star' held on the 4th at Banryeomaru in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, taking a commemorative photo with officials.

Gyeonggi Province held the '2024 Gyeonggi-do PETSTA' on the 4th at Pet Maru Hwaseong, located in Mado-myeon, Hwaseong City, to promote and spread a proper companion animal culture.

Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province said on the day, "In celebration of Family Month, Gyeonggi Province is now declaring a day for companion animals, who are like family," adding, "Although it is currently Gyeonggi-do Companion Animal Day, I believe it will soon become Korea's Companion Animal Day."

He continued, "Two years ago, after taking office, we established the Gyeonggi Province Livestock Animal Welfare Bureau, protected nearly 700 rescue dogs from a breeding facility in Hwaseong at Pet Maru, and over 80% of them have been adopted," and added, "Gyeonggi Province is pioneering many new initiatives in Korea, including companion animals and climate change response. I am confident that what we are doing now will spread throughout the country."

Following last year's PETSTA held at the old Gyeonggi Provincial Government building, this second event was organized with programs that both pet owners and non-pet owners could enjoy together. Governor Kim Dong-yeon toured the newly opened cat adoption center and companion animal-related booths at Pet Maru Hwaseong.

Various animal interaction programs and a dog sports day prepared at PETSTA provided opportunities for the general public to participate in games with their dogs and enjoy a fun time together.

Gyeonggi Province also held the 'Gyeonggi-do Companion Animal Day Proclamation Ceremony' on the same day.

Gyeonggi-do Companion Animal Day is designated as the Saturday of the week containing Children's Day in May, Family Month, symbolizing spending happy times with new family members, companion animals, and children who will lead the future of companion animals.

For this event, the Gyeonggi Youth Volunteer Group visited Pet Maru Hwaseong before the event to clean the environment around the cat adoption center and paint murals.

On the day of the event, they also assisted visitors' participation and supported safety management to ensure that companion dogs could play safely in the playground.

Gyeonggi Province will continue to operate companion animal adoption weeks quarterly to promote proper companion animal adoption and culture, and will conduct various companion life education programs at Pet Maru locations in Hwaseong and Yeoju.