A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in South Korean Wildfires (Sister City: Jeonju & San Diego, California)

posted by KoreanDogs.org team on June 3,2025 in Action Alert, Break the Chains, Forest fire, Sister city

Photos: Charles, a dog who miraculously escaped a wildfire after being severely burned across his entire body, including inside his mouth, is now receiving intensive care and showing remarkable resilience despite his horrific injuries. Tragically, Charles witnessed his friend, tied next to him, burn to death. https://koreandogs.org/charles/

Despite the revised Animal Protection Act of 2023, South Korea continues to allow the cruel practice of lifelong tethering, often with chains far shorter than the supposed two-meter minimum. Weak enforcement leaves countless “rural dogs” to suffer in filth, neglect, and isolation, treated as mere property.

Tragically, this systemic neglect results in horrific deaths during disasters like the recent wildfires. Helpless dogs, chained and caged, are left to burn alive as their owners evacuate, abandoning their loyal companions to unimaginable agony. This is not mere indifference but a callous betrayal that stains South Korea’s conscience.

With its inadequate leash length and poor enforcement, the revised law fails to protect these animals. Lifelong tethering must be banned outright.

We demand immediate action:
• Enact and strictly enforce a complete ban on lifelong tethering.
• Drastically strengthen enforcement of animal welfare laws with severe penalties for neglect.
• Mandatory disaster evacuation protocols must unequivocally require the evacuation of all dogs alongside their human guardians, forbidding any dog from being left tethered or confined during evacuations.

We urge the Sister/Friendship Cities of South Korea to take a stand against this cruelty. Their partnerships cannot ignore the horrific reality of dogs chained and left to burn alive. We ask them to contact their counterparts in South Korea and demand meaningful laws to protect dogs, including a ban on tethering and mandatory pet evacuation during emergencies.

The world is watching. South Korea must move beyond ineffective minimum standards and implement real change to end this unimaginable suffering. Demand action now.

In a devastating display of cruelty during the South Korean wildfire, tethered and abandoned dogs perished. This tragedy underscores the urgent need for a fundamental shift towards compassion within South Korean society. CARE.

✍🏼 Sign the Petition

Call for Action

👉 📧 Click HERE to message the San Diego Mayor online.

👉 📧 Email the Mayor and City Council of San Diego, the Jeonju City Council, the Jeonbuk State Council, and the National Assembly of South Korea.

👉 📬 Mail the letter.

Mayor’s Office
City Administration Building
202 C Street, 11th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
USA

📬 Send a copy of your letter to Jeonju:

Mayor Woo Beom-ki
Jeonju Government
(54994) 10 Nosonggwangjang-ro, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeollabukdo-do
South Korea

Jeonju City Council
(54994) 10 Nosonggwangjang-ro, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeollabukdo-do
South Korea

📬 Jeonju addresses in Korean:

우범기 전주시장님
전주시청
(54994) 전라북도 전주시 완산구 노송광장로 10
South Korea

전주시의회
(54994) 전라북도 전주시 완산구 노송광장로 10
South Korea

📝 Suggested message

Urgent international appeal: We respectfully urge your leadership to help end the cruel lifelong tethering of dogs and prevent the tragic, repeated deaths from wildfires in your Sister City, Jeonju.

Dear Mayor Todd Gloria and Esteemed Representatives of San Diego,

I am writing with urgency and outrage regarding the unspeakable cruelty of lifelong tethering of dogs in your Sister City, Jeonju, South Korea, and the catastrophic consequences this practice has during wildfires. We value the Sister City relationship and urge your immediate, principled action in response to this international animal welfare crisis.

The barbaric practice of lifelong tethering—often using chains shorter than three feet—results in chronic neglect and suffering, leaving countless sentient beings defenseless during natural disasters. Tragically, repeated wildfires in South Korea have led to horrific, preventable deaths of tethered dogs who were unable to escape. This reflects a deeply disturbing lack of compassion in some segments of Korean society toward the agony of these loyal animals.

Witness this brutal reality (Warning: Graphic content in the following videos):

These loyal creatures are deliberately left chained during evacuations and condemned to be burned alive. This recurring horror, fueled by inadequate laws, insufficient emergency preparedness, and a shocking disregard for their suffering, demands immediate and forceful international condemnation.

As leaders of a Sister City to Jeonju, you have a powerful platform for ethical advocacy. We implore you to recognize the moral imperative of ending this cruelty and preventing further suffering. Decisive action on the international level is crucial.

Therefore, we respectfully urge you to:

1. STRONGLY CONDEMN the practice of lifelong tethering and the repeated, devastating immolation of dogs in Jeonju during wildfires. Publicly denounce the lack of compassion that allows this to persist.

2. IMMEDIATELY REACH OUT to your counterparts in Jeonju to express profound global outrage. Emphasize that the continued failure to ban tethering and protect animals during wildfires threatens South Korea’s international reputation.

3. URGE THE LEADERSHIP OF JEONJU to enact critical animal protection reforms by working with the national government to:

Implement an immediate and strictly enforced ban on lifelong tethering.
Establish and enforce mandatory evacuation protocols that include all companion animals.
Launch public awareness campaigns promoting responsible pet guardianship.
Introduce stronger penalties for neglect and abandonment, particularly during disasters.

4. OFFER YOUR CITY’S EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES to help Jeonju develop robust animal welfare standards (including a tethering ban) and comprehensive emergency preparedness measures.

The continued cruelty of lifelong tethering and the repeated, horrific deaths of dogs in South Korean wildfires represent a profound moral failing. As a Sister City, San Diego has a unique and urgent opportunity—and responsibility—to act. These sentient beings deserve to live free from chains and the terror of preventable, horrific death. We urge you to take decisive and compassionate action on the global stage.

An online petition is underway, urging your support: https://chng.it/Lnc46njsSC. We implore you to address this issue with the urgency and seriousness it deserves, demonstrating true leadership in the cause of animal welfare.

Sincerely,

[Your name, city, country]

👉 Post on X and Bluesky.

A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in #SouthKorean #Wildfires Sister City #Jeonju #SanDiego #BanDogTethering #EndDogChainingKorea #AnimalWelfareKorea✍️https://chng.it/Lnc46njsSC✊https://koreandogs.org/a-plea-for-compassion-Jeonju-San-Diego/✊https://koreandogs.org/a-plea-for-compassion-sister-city-us/ 👉🏽FB https://www.facebook.com/BanTether/

👉 Join the effort! Click HERE and HERE for more ways you can help.

Video: CARE rescued a dog in South Korea with both eyes severely burned by the fire.

Video: Daan spent three agonizing years tied to a tree, enduring harsh weather, malnutrition, and blindness with no love or shelter, until he was finally rescued—too late to regain his health but given a chance to experience kindness. Despite medical care and a brief time in a safe space, he passed away, leaving behind a heartbreaking reminder of the cruelty animals endure and a plea for compassion toward all sentient beings. To learn more, click 👉 HERE, HERE, HERE.

Video: 💔 CARE’s Grim Discovery: Agony in the Ashes - Burned Dogs Found

Video: Amidst the devastating South Korean wildfires that killed many and destroyed homes, junior dogs who escaped a burning dog farm were found by CARE, demonstrating incredible loyalty by staying together despite severe burns and starvation, highlighting the tragic abandonment of countless animals and the urgent need for improved animal welfare.
Amidst the Inferno: Junior Dogs Found and Rescued, Clinging to Each Other.🐾🐾 CARE

Categories: Action Alert, Break the Chains, Forest fire, Sister city