Frequently Asked Questions
to KoreanDogs.org
What can I do to help?
The most important action you can take is calling the South Korean Embassy in your country and speaking out against this atrocity. Phone numbers and talking points can be found here: https://koreandogs.org/what-you-can-do/contacts-for-protest/call-south-korean-embassy/
We would love to hear about the responses you receive from the Embassy. Please tell us about your experience!
Signing and sharing all petitions is also a critical part of our effort: https://koreandogs.org/petitions/
For more ways to help in the fight against this brutal industry, please visit the “What you can do” page here: https://koreandogs.org/what-you-can-do/
You’ll want to stay up-to-date on the news and calls to action, so don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter: https://koreandogs.org/.
Do petitions really work?
To file e-People petition, go to any of our campaign pages, and file e-people petition using our “Suggested message” or your own words.
👉 Need help with filing the e-People petition? Click HERE.
Other online petitions such as Change.org and Avaaz.org:
Petitions can be effective by showing the Koreans how many people have seen and care about our issues.
I understand that some people are wary about adding their signature to a petition, as there are ones out there which have been created without much care; and, in some cases, the petition process is not followed through properly with delivery of the collected signatures to the petitioned party. However, the petitions which we recommend are ones that we have created ourselves or ones from people/organisations that we trust; and we always make sure our petitions get delivered to the petitioned targets.
We also utilize free resources, such as social media, as much as possible, as we are a volunteer group and do not take donations.
Can you send me leaflets to distribute?
Where can I get or buy a KoreanDogs.org t-shirt?
What about the chickens, cows and pigs?
https://koreandogs.org/faq-kara-1/
https://koreandogs.org/faq-kara-2/
https://koreandogs.org/faq-pda/
https://koreandogs.org/faq-by-kara/ (In Korean)
I want to organize a protest. Can you send me posters and banners?
Why don’t the people who are filming this cruelty, do something to stop it?
The farmer makes a living out of breeding and selling dogs: the farmer may be willing to sell his dogs (to the person filming etc.), but the farmer would require the same price for it that he would otherwise get for the dog at a market – why would he sell it at a loss? Therefore: a) the person trying to buy the dog(s) would need a large amount of money; b) they would then need to have the facilities to care for these dogs (and the money to do so); and c) just removing those few dogs would not stop the dog meat trade – the farmer would just breed some more (note: estimated 2.5 million dogs a year go into the dog-meat trade).
So, what is the answer? Who can stop it?
So, why aren’t the Korean Government doing anything?
Why do you show such graphic images with your campaigns? Don’t you think you would get a better response if you used more positive images and stories?
We therefore feel that our approach and selection of images and links used to get the message across in our campaigns will be the most effective in raising awareness and getting concerned supporters to take action.
You have so many petitions. Can you automate it so that we can sign them all at once?
Wouldn’t it be better if you had only one petition, instead of so many different ones? That way, you would probably get millions of signatures.
As an example, consider our petition: https://www.change.org/p/boycott-pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-in-south-korea-a-dog-eating-nation
This petition, which has been running for nearly six years, has received short of 500 thousand signatures; a figure which has only, in recent months, doubled and been reached with the significant help of change.org, who promote it for us free of charge.
Our strategy, as a volunteer group, which operates without donations, is to maximize free resources so we can flood social media with this issue, which is why we put so much effort into creating as many wide-spread campaigns and petitions as we can.
It would not be possible to cover all of the various issues surrounding the dog meat trade, and the detail required to inform and persuade the different targets, with just one generic petition. It would not make for effective campaigning, if we do not tailor the wording to the individual organisation or persons being petitioned.
I have sent emails to addresses given on your web-pages, but many of them ‘bounce’ or have some other message saying they cannot be delivered. Why is this?
There could be several reasons why your emails are returned or not delivered. Your returned email will indicate the reason for the returned email such as “Message blocked”, “The receiver denied your mail.” One suggestion that we would like to make is that you separate your personal email with the petition mailing email account. You can also set up multiple email accounts on gmail for petition email sending.
In addition, the sources from where we have collected these email addresses could be out of date, or incorrect; or may have changed since we collected this information and listed it on our website. We do try our best to keep up-to-date information, but, as you can appreciate, it is not always possible to reflect these changes.
The e-People petition is the most effective of all the actions you can take so please try doing that today. This will never bounce back and you will ALWAYS get a response from the Korean government. www.e-People.go.kr
We also urge everyone to pass on your message by sending postal letters, and making telephone calls. Telephoning is particularly effective as the message cannot be so easily ‘ignored’.
Your campaigns and website focus on helping dogs but what about cats?
Also, we are a volunteer group that is not based in South Korea. We do not have unlimited resources and we are not able to rescue Korean dogs or cats directly. So our aim and purpose is to support animal rights and rescue groups on the ground in Korea by sharing information and supporting their fundraiser efforts, etc.
However, if you are concerned about cruelty to cats there are many ways you can help to end both dog and cat consumption in South Korea. Please click HERE to take action today.
Why did you change your online petition site to Avaaz.org? This site is suspicious and many people will not sign.
We have seen no information about Avaaz.org to believe that they are not a legitimate site.
Here is an article you may be interested in: https://www.1843magazine.com/content/features/robert-butler/man-behind-avaaz
If you have information about Avaaz.org site being not credible, please forward it to us.
I tried to sign petitions and I got stuck; I got an error message.
If your question is regarding the filing of an e-People petition, please refer to our step-by step instructions before you contact us, as you may find the answer there.
👉 How to file e-People petitions -South Korea’s official government online petition: https://koreandogs.org/epeople/
👉 How to check the status of your e-People petitions-South Korea’s official government online petition: https://koreandogs.org/epeople-check/
