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Welcome to the official site of International Aid for Korean Animals.
Welcome to the official website for International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA). IAKA is a non-profit organization founded by Kyenan Kum in 1997 to promote animal protection and humane education in Korea. Since its inception Kyenan has worked tirelessly, campaigning worldwide to educate the international community about the difficult conditions for dogs and cats in Korea. A major victory for IAKA came in 2007 with the revision and strengthening of Korea’s 1991 Animal Protection law, which IAKA had long campaigned and petitioned to improve.
KAPES was founded in late 2007 by Kyenan Kum and Haesun Park as a response to the newly strengthened Animal Protection law. The two activists realized that with stronger legal protections in place, direct protest of the government and of the meat trade would be less productive than eliminating the demand for dog and cat meat altogether, through hands-on education. The construction of a new Adoption and Education Center in Seoul, capital city of South Korea, is the first step towards teaching young Koreans about the humane treatment of animals and instilling them with a deep compassion for dogs and cats. With the new Animal Protection law in place, IAKA/KAPES seeks to work in partnership with the government to successfully affect positive change in Korean society. The time is finally right to eliminate the plight of Korea’s dogs and cats.
- IAKA US - We are registered as 501(c)3 status organization # 94-3255699 in the U.S. More information.
- IAKA UK - We are registered as charity # 1115187 in the U.K. More information.
- KAPES - We are registered as a foundation in South Korea. More information.
A Labor of love
In a time of economic, political, and social uncertainty for Korea, it would be easy for animals to be left by the wayside. Especially for dogs and cats, so common as to be easily forgotten, this is a valid concern. But just as we have seen hopeful signs this summer in the relationship between North and South Korea, so have we witnessed incremental changes in the treatment of animals in the latter country. However, the relationship between North and South remains complicated and fraught with peril, and so does the situation for dogs and cats here: simply because we have seen advances does not mean we can sit back and hope for the best. What is needed is strong leadership, vision, and an innovative approach.
We are fortunate, then, to have found these qualities in Haesun Park, director of KAPES, and her ever-growing corps of volunteers. Over the past two years, Haesun has emerged as a true leader and passionate fighter for the protection of dogs and cats in Korea. She is inexhaustible: her work weeks extend well beyond full time and are filled with volunteer hands-on work with animals, manual labor (making repairs on our Daejeon shelter), organizing promotional events for KAPES, and managing dozens of volunteers.
Her volunteers are just as dedicated, helping out with the shelter and drumming up grassroots support for our cause. All this work is done on incredibly limited funds. It is a labor of love, and I see it as a silver lining in the clouds that have darkened the skies of dogs and cats in Korea for too long.
I am also given hope by other news: the story of a dog being helped by passerby, instead of eaten, or the fact that the government has acknowledged the problem of animal abuse to such an extent that they have created a position to enforce the Animal Protection law we worked so hard to have passed. Animal Assisted Therapy, long a favorite project of mine, is finally coming to Korea. It is all thanks to your continued support, for which I thank you sincerely. There is still a difficult road to be traveled, but IAKA and KAPES are always deeply grateful to have you along with us.
Sincerely,
Kyenan Kum
IAKA & KAPES Founder