Editor's note: This column offers a space for citizens to reflect on Seoul's policies and daily life from a resident's perspective, and to share their voices for a better city. We welcome opinions and proposals on a wide range of issues facing Seoul — transportation, housing, welfare, the environment, culture and more. Selected submissions will be forwarded to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and we will examine together how policies and systems can be improved. If you have suggestions for Seoul, want to flag everyday inconveniences or wish to propose a policy, please send them by email to 7toy7@heraldcorp.com. We look forward to making citizens' voices the starting point for change in Seoul.
Seoul is a city where the number of residents living with companion animals is growing rapidly. Yet for all its talk of becoming a "pet-friendly city," the everyday inconveniences people encounter are still considerable. As long as pet policy remains confined to a handful of support projects and events, it will be difficult to produce change that citizens can actually feel.
The first issue that needs attention is living space. Areas where people can walk their pets are limited, and both pet owners and non-owners often face difficulties when using apartment complexes, parks and public transportation. What is needed is not simply more dedicated pet spaces, but careful, well-defined standards for how existing urban spaces can be shared.
Particularly important is a phased expansion of spaces that both pets and residents can use together, taking into account the residential character and green space conditions of each neighborhood, along with systematic improvements to usage rules and amenities.
The public dimension of veterinary care and animal welfare also needs strengthening. Veterinary costs are a real burden for households with companion animals. For residents in difficult financial circumstances, treatment costs can become the deciding factor in whether they are able to care for a pet for its entire life. There is a need to expand subsidized veterinary care for vulnerable groups and to explore ways to improve access to after-hours and emergency services.
The problem of abandoned animals must also shift from a response-focused approach to a prevention-focused one. Alongside promoting adoption, animal registration, neutering and pet education should be more tightly integrated, and responsible-ownership education across an animal's life stages should be strengthened. Providing sufficient information before a person takes on a pet is the most practical way to reduce abandonment and surrenders.
Above all, it is important to recognize that this is not policy for pet owners alone. A truly pet-friendly city is one where residents who live with animals and those who do not can coexist. Clear standards must be established for the flashpoints of conflict — waste disposal, noise, leash rules and safety incidents — and education and management systems must be reinforced. The policymaking process itself must balance the views of pet owners and non-owners alike, and take a close look at the conflicts that recur on the ground.
For Seoul to establish itself as a genuinely pet-friendly city, what is needed is not showy projects but policies that citizens can feel in their daily lives. Rather than stopping at short-term initiatives, the city must develop a medium- to long-term roadmap to ensure policy continuity. A system that consistently incorporates citizens' opinions and transparently discloses outcomes must also be in place.
A city where people and animals can live together safely and comfortably — not merely a city built for pets. That is the next step Seoul's companion animal policy should be aiming for. — Park Jeong-seon, Dobong-gu, Seoul (age 35)
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
