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.
IAKA/KAPES Project for Struggling Shelters
Download a PDF of our Spring 2010 Newsletter at our materials page and help us spread the word!
In 2008, one of KAPES’ goals was to help struggling shelters operate better through education and funding. Such shelters are operated by groups or individuals that are not well known in Korea and are often experiencing financial difficulties. Conditions for the animals are poor, and those who run the shelters don’t have the expertise to care for pet animals properly. We are also concerned that shelter owners could be anim
al hoarders, rather than legitimate protectors of dogs and cats. With owners having no fundamental training regarding care of shelter animals, rescued cats and dogs have little hope of living better lives.
As with Daejeon Shelter, we hope to give all legitimate shelters the opportunity to improve. Recently we offered our support to two more shelters with excellent management—despite the dire circumstances they face—and we are proud to have Haesun Park (Director of KAPES) working directly with them to help provide cat and dog spay/neuter and to teach proper pet care and adoption practices. But these efforts alone are not enough, since the number of abandoned dogs and cats continues to rise and shelters are overcrowded, making them all the more difficult to maintain.
The future is bright, however, as we have only just begun this project. Entering a new decade, animal protection laws are being strengthened and general awareness of animal abuse is on the rise. Haesun works constantly with the government, lobbying to enforce the law and to engage in more public education. And it is truly a blessing that we have such programs as Assisted Animal Therapy and the new Korean Animal Assisted Therapy Federation (see page 3). We can hardly wait to find an affordable place in Seoul, however small, to build the KAPES Adoption and Education Center! But without financial assistance, our work to save stray dogs and cats is not possible; that is why we urge you all to continue to contribute to our organization. After all, how sad would the world be without love and nurturing among all forms of life? Make the future of all pets and animals a happier one by supporting these programs to benefit not only our personal lives, but also all living beings in society.
I wish you all a wonderful spring season!
Sincerely,
Kyenan Kum
IAKA & KAPES Founder