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Fullerton, California: Tell Sister City, Seongnam, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

If you want to help fight the grisly South Korean dog and cat meat trade and make a difference in South Korea, here are a few quick actions you can take that could save millions of dogs and cats each year.

Seongnam’s mayor, Shin Sang-jin, said on his official page,
“We will create a luxury city together with citizens through communication!
Bright, an innovative city leading the 4th industrial revolution!
A healthy city full of pleasant environment and vitality!
A fast and convenient transportation city that connects in all directions!
An Integrity city that moves in the right direction into the future!”
But can his plans be achieved with the massive dog meat industry operating in his city, including the largest dog meat market in the country, Moran Market?

Seongnam became a Sister City with Fullerton, California, on April 25, 2023.

LCA/ALW’s 5-month Investigation into Seongnam Moran Market Exposes the Ongoing Cruelty of the Dog Meat Trade

Video: Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. jtbc News.[추적보도 훅] 철창 갇힌 채 감전사…’먹히기 위해’ 죽어가는 개들 / JTBC 뉴스룸

MBC News: Dog meat debate hotter than Boknal (Malbok), Unsanitary and infected dogs distributed as meat.

Photo: House of Horror – The Seongnam Taepyeong-dong Dog Slaughterhouse

The “Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” was passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, mandating the cessation of all related operations. However, the dog meat trade has always been illegal, and despite this new legislation, there has been no change, and the situation remains dire for the dogs confined in dog farms across the country.

In Seongnam, there are countless dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, and restaurants where the dogs, who have been tortured their entire lives, end up being slaughtered in the most inhumane ways, such as by electrocution, hanging, or beating, and then thrown into boiling water – sometimes while they are still alive. In many places, dogs are being killed in full view of other terrified, caged dogs, and this takes place in broad daylight. In addition, many abandoned and stolen former pets end up in this industry and are subject to the same cruelty.

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Seongnam’s dog meat demand.

Search results on Naver, the most popular search engine in Korea, revealed the prevalence of so-called “Health Centers” that often sell dog elixirs and cat elixirs, also known as dog soju and cat soju. Additionally, numerous listings for “dog meat restaurants” indicated a significant presence of such establishments in the Seongnam area.

Even if only half of these “Health” Centers and dog meat restaurants incorporate dog and cat “ingredients” in some form, the number of dog and cat farms and slaughterhouses required to supply these outlets is staggering. The largest dog meat market in South Korea, Moran Market, is also located in Seongnam.

There are laws in South Korea against selling dogs and cats for consumption, yet these laws are blatantly ignored.

Call for Action

• 📧 Send emails to the Mayor and the City Councilmembers of Fullerton.

  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];

  📧 CC (Carbon Copy) email to the Seongnam City Council, Gyeonggi-do Assembly, and the South Korean National Assembly members.

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• 📬Send letters.

  Fullerton City Council
  City of Fullerton
  303 W. Commonwealth Ave.
  Fullerton, CA 92832USA
  USA

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to the Seongnam Government.

  Mayor Shin Sang-jin
  City of Seongnam
  997 Seongnam-daero, Joongwon-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do
  Postal Code 13437
  South Korea

  Seongnam City Council
  997 Seongnam-daero, Joongwon-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do
  Postal Code 13437
  South Korea

  📬 Seongnam Government’s addresses in Korean:

  신상진 성남 시장님
  성남시청
  우) 13437 경기도 성남시 중원구 성남대로 997
  South Korea

  성남시의회
  우) 13437 경기도 성남시 중원구 성남대로 997
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook pages.

  Fullerton
  Seongnam
  Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin
  Seongnam City Council
  Gyeonggi-do Government
  Gyeonggi-do Governor
  Gyeonggi-do Assembly

  📝 Suggested message

  Fullerton City Council: Please tell Sister City, Seongnam, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

  Dear Mayor Dunlap and Members of the Fullerton City Council,

  As representatives of Fullerton, we implore you to reconsider your Sister City agreement with Seongnam, South Korea, a city that permits dogs and cats to be horribly abused and brutally killed for food.

  While graphic, these undercover videos depicting South Korea’s dog meat industry are important to watch:
  Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
  Part 2 of 2: https://vimeo.com/754160791
  Dog Trafficking: The Moran Market Dog Meat Trade Exposed: https://youtu.be/iReegl91COI
  Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/
  Forest fire in Uljin burns dogs imprisoned in dog meat farms: https://youtu.be/mh1lEGt2gjU
  https://youtu.be/GLLeI_XFNPg

  Despite the passage of the “Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, which mandates all operations to cease, the situation remains dire. Dogs confined in dog farms in Seongnam and across South Korea continue to suffer immensely.

  Seongnam has a large dog meat industry and the largest dog meat market(Moran Market) in the country. Korean web searches turn up dozens of dog meat restaurants and so-called “Health Centers” that commonly serve soup made of dog meat as phony elixirs (also known as dog soju).

  Dogs suffer their entire lives in filthy, feces-encrusted raised wire cages in dire misery only to be slaughtered in the most horrific of ways— tortured by electrocution, hammer strikes to their head, hanging, being beaten to death, having their throats slit, being burned alive with a blowtorch or thrown into a vat of boiling water while still alive. In many places, dogs are killed in full view of other caged dogs who tremble with terror. These poor dogs are often burned alive in their cages, unable to escape. They are fed rotten, moldy garbage full of chili peppers unfit for any animals to eat, and they are not given water. In addition, beloved pets are often stolen and sold to these slaughterhouses, where they meet the same horrific fate. Puppies who die of disease are tossed away like trash, often left in front of cages to rot while their mothers watch and cry out in despair. The dog farms, slaughterhouses, and markets in Seongnam persist in violating multiple existing laws, but the Seongnam government’s response has been inadequate, reflecting a shameful indifference to animal suffering.

  Mayor Christopher Chung of Palisades Park, New Jersey, has already shown his rejection of the dog meat trade in no uncertain terms. As reported in the Korea Times, he rejected a visit from exchange students from the Sister city, Incheon Ganghwa County, due to its dog meat trade. In California, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting legislation or administrative action that would request the governments of South Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia ban the sale of dog meat and enforce their animal protection laws.

  On behalf of animal lovers worldwide, we ask that you follow these bold leads by not remaining silent in the face of such abhorrent cruelty. Please urge Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin to shut down all dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, dog meat restaurants, and truckers transporting dogs to their inevitable fates. An online petition calling for your support in ending such horrors perpetrated in Seongnam is in progress: https://chng.it/yNPywJxhFB.

  Thank you for your serious consideration. We eagerly await your reply.

  Sincerely,

  [Your name, city, country]

• ☎️ Call the Fullerton Mayor and City Councilmembers’s Office.

  Mayor Nicholas Dunlap (714) 738-6311
  District 1 City Councilmember, Fred Jung (714) 738-6311
  District 3 City Councilmember Shana Charles (714) 738-6311
  District 4 City Councilmember Bruce Whitaker (714) 738-6311
  District 5 City Councilmember Ahmad Zahra (714) 738-6311

  ☎️ Suggested phone message

  I’m calling to speak with someone in the Mayor’s Office regarding an important issue related to your Sister City, Seongnam, in South Korea.

  I want to bring to your attention that dog meat consumption continues in Seongnam despite it being illegal under South Korean law. Unfortunately, these laws are not enforced. The dog and cat meat trades involve severe and widespread animal cruelty, causing the animals unimaginable pain and distress. As these animals cannot advocate for themselves, I am reaching out on their behalf. I believe your city would want to be informed of this situation, as you would likely not wish to be associated with a city where illegal and inhumane practices are ongoing, especially involving loyal and trusting animals that look to us as their protectors.

  Despite growing opposition from animal advocates in South Korea and around the world, these illegal trades persist, supported by insufficient action from local authorities.

  I kindly request that you discuss this matter with your counterparts in Seongnam, urging them to enforce their laws, show compassion towards their animals, and demonstrate respect for their citizens by ending these trades.

  South Korea has many beautiful and admirable traditions worth preserving, but this is not one of them.

  Thank you for your time and understanding.

• Post on X.

  Suggested X text

  .@seongnamcity .@seongnamcouncil .@FullertonCA #Fullerton Tell Sister City #Seongnam #SouthKorea that you oppose torture and consumption of #dogs #cats #dogmeat #catmeat https://chng.it/yNPywJxhFB✊https://koreandogs.org/Seongnam-Fullerton

Video: South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. KBS DIGITALNEWS LAB.

Video: In the dog meat farm, the Dog Meat Consumption Prohibition Law has no meaning for the tens of thousands remaining and puppies yet to be born. CARE.

No matter where you live, PLEASE SHARE these actions with your friends, especially those who live in Fullerton!

Photos: Jung Jin Woo.

https://www.facebook.com/careanimalrights/videos/1869217026478518/
Video: Horror in the night! CARE confronts a dog slaughterhouse in Seongnam, South Korea!

Click HERE to watch more videos from CARE’s surprise visit on August 15, 2018 and press conference on August 16, 2018.

Video: Appalling Reality of South Korea’s Illegal Dog Farms (불법 개농장 참혹한 현실 – 제보자들 20200610)