Negative image of ‘dog-eating barbarian country’
Concerns about serious impact on the Korean economy
Purebred and certified Jindo dogs at the stage of extinction
Announcement of new guide dog school to IFAW
▲ A picture of former Chairman Lee Kun-hee while he was still alive, spending time with young Jindo dogs that Samsung managed to preserve the breed. Provided by Samsung “The World Dog Breed Association did not prove that the Jindo dog’s place of origin is Korea. This was because there was no clear obedience. When I found out about this, I immediately went to Jindo and stayed for three days, went to the market, visited various houses where purebreds were said to be, and bought 30 of them.” (Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung)
As the ‘Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Guide Dog School’, a representative social contribution project of Samsung Group, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, the late Chairman Lee’s extraordinary love for animals is being reexamined. He is famous for his special affection for the preservation of Jindo dogs as well as his guide dog school project. According to the business world on the 20th, late Chairman Lee personally visited Jindo, Jeollanam-do in the late 1960s and purchased 30 Jindo dogs, which were on the verge of extinction. At that time, the Jindo dog was designated as Natural Monument No. 53 (named Jindo dog) in Korea, but its origin was not recognized by the World Dog Breeds Association as Korea. Accordingly, the late Chairman Lee, who believed that Jindo dogs could be presented on the world stage, jumped into the preservation of purebred Jindo dogs. After 10 years of effort, Samsung succeeded in producing a pair of purebred Jindo dogs and raised the obedience rate to 80%.
It was around the time of the 1988 Seoul Olympics that former Chairman Lee’s interest in Jindo dogs expanded to Samsung’s business. As attention focused on Korea around the Olympics, the negative perception of Korea as a ‘dog-eating barbarian country’ spread in the international community.
Former Chairman Lee believed that this perception could have a serious impact on the Korean economy in the long term, and invited executives from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to Seoul to tour the newly built pet dog research center and guide dog school, contributing to alleviating negative perceptions. .
Reporter Park Seong-guk
2023-09-20 15:04:48
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