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Rescue Shelters
In 1992, Sunnan and Kyenan established the Korean Animal Protection Society (KAPS), the first official animal rescue shelter in Korea. Over the years IAKA has shifted focus from organizing international campaigns ad protests, which raised some awareness but did little to effect actual changes, to supporting grassroots organizations and shelters in Korea. This was done in part because it turns out the most effective tool for change was the education and support of the Korean people. Donations to IAKA went to help build new shelter facilities, run humane education programs, and fund Spay/Neuter and veterinary operations. Some of the Korean shelters IAKA’s generous donors have helped support in the past include: KAPS, its sister organization KAPES (the Korean Animal Protection and Education Society), the Nabiya Association, Daejun Paws, Goan Animal Shelter, and numerous others.
Hug Me Shelter
Hug Me Shelter was born in April 2019, when a stray dog wandered into the front office of the senior center where co-founder Rah Sangyu worked. The dog was in rough shape, with thick matts in his fur and deep marks on his snout from a muzzle. Rah cleaned up the dog, fed him, and began training him to walk with people. While trying to find a temporary home for the dog until he could be adopted out, they were referred to a farm which turned out to be a dog-meat farm, where over 30 animals were kept in absolutely squalid conditions. Every day for four months Rah and his wife, Shizuka Nakahira, went to the farm to try to convince the owner to shut down the farm. They finally relented and Rah and Shizuka built a temporary shelter to house all of the animals until they could find them good homes.
In 2023, Hug Me Shelter was able to secure a permanent location and constructed shelter facilities and adoption offices all while they continued to rescue dogs from farms, local government shelters, and animal hoarders. They continue to facilitate their rehabilitation, care, and adoption out to loving homes. At the end of 2024, they successfully registered as a non-profit organization in Korea with the goal of helping raise funds for their continued operation.
Rebel Rescue South Korea
Rebel Rescue South Korea originally started as a group of volunteers at a shelter in Asan, organized and run by an elderly Korean woman known to all as “Granny”. Sadly, Granny passed away in March of 2021. The shelter continued on, with its operational duties being taken on by a number of American volunteers and expats. This was because it is much easier for native English speakers to facilitate Rebel Rescue’s international adoption program. Most of their dogs have been rescued from high-kill shelters, animal hoarders, and meat farms. Also in 2021, they were successfully registered as a non-profit organization in the United States. In 2024 they secured funding to build a new, larger and better equipped shelter facility for both dogs and cats.
