QSince when were you a cat person?

I actually grew up with a dog by my side. You know how time feels slower in your younger days? Eight years, as you can imagine, takes up a tremendous portion of your childhood. Before losing him from a car accident, I¡¯d always regarded him as part of my family. That experience, simply of living with a dog, granted me a proper feel for what it¡¯s like to share your private moments and day-to-day being with a dog.
Hence, as soon as I became financially independent and felt I¡¯d acquired enough fiscal and (room for) time investments to devote to a pet, I started looking into animal adoption options. I ended up bringing in a cat, which I think is partly due to my prior experience encountering so many stray cats in alleys. I¡¯d often share snacks with them, forming a bond with these lovely feline creatures. That¡¯s how Sogeum entered my life.

QWhat made you start your ¡®IG-toon¡¯ (or ¡®Insta-toon¡¯) works and serialize it as an account?

As is common amongst single-living households, I had a great sense of loneliness within me. To stave it off, I made deliberate efforts to go out more, meet more people. Bringing in the little creature, a single cat into my life surprisingly had an enormous impact on my daily life.
Naturally, I gradually felt less lonesome. Her presence afforded me to strike an ideal balance, whether in terms of my leisurely time for refueling or recharging from work-mode. From there, having more time for myself that I was willing to proactively use, or invest in maintaining a hobby simply led me to draw cartoons featuring a cohabiting person and a cat to express my burgeoning love toward Sogeum.

QHow else does living intimately alongside cats affect you?

Cats never forgo their self-grooming routine, regardless of how hectic of a situation or environment they¡¯re in. In fact, cats dedicate a fair portion of their time, on a daily basis, to grooming themselves from top to bottom, head to tail. Seeing how gracefully they undergo self-maintenance — routinely and consistently — motivates me to also remain attentive to my own self even in the midst of whatever chaos, instability or struggles I face.

QWhat are the best and worst things about your job?

It¡¯s simply what put me here and made me who I am; I¡¯m blessed to have found my duty and to exist alongside and in servitude to such wondrous beings [dogs]. There is no doubt I'll continue doing so to the fullest of my capacity.
Aside from the fact that it consists of consistent interactions with dogs, the job affords me a glean into the lives of many different people. You¡¯d be surprised how much dogs¡¯ behavioral tendencies and attitudes reflect their guardians¡¯. It¡¯s like borrowing a window view into people¡¯s lives.
You have to maintain very rigorous standards and levels of equanimity. Even physically, for quick reflexes and agility, a strictly disciplined routine is a must. My daily regimen is designed to enable me to do my absolute best for dogs. As an actual father, my son has come into the picture but my insistence on the ongoing routine remains as meticulously constructed as it had been ever since I began figuring out how best to treat and serve dogs.

QWhat led you to establish and lead a business in this field of your expertise? The clout you embody in Korean society and our mainstream consciousness must already be more than enough to have your say heard as a beloved TV personality and skilled trainer.

It came to me just as naturally as my affection for dogs did since my early childhood. I train dogs, dog owners and fellow dog trainers, which have always been my job, an occupation that consists of the most playful interactions with dogs — compared to others that deal with them just as frequently, like vets or groomers. So, why not offer services to dog owners who may be suffering, along with their dogs, due to sheer miscommunication? For us trainers, such problems are easy to spot and resolve. All we need is to be quick on our reflexes and remain highly attuned to various canine behavioral signals — or clues for assessing their present states — and leverage the data we¡¯ve thus far accumulated from numerous practices and case studies.
What people often find surprising is the fact that our customers are rarely upper class. You¡¯d imagine our dog center to be luxury or supplementary treatment-based, but that is hardly the case. Even this city Namyang-ju is a rural rather than suburban part of Gyeonggi-do Province; I often encounter customers who save up specifically to visit here: to obtain our services as a way of providing their beloved dogs with a solution and ultimately, a better living environment.
What does that reflect about our society? Generally speaking of course, our priorities are shifting. Creatures that have once been treated like accessories or some complementary topping to console or make themselves feel better are no longer objectified, or treated in the human-centric point of view that prevailed.