Interviews with compassionate friends of animals in Seoul

"I always loved all kinds of animals, and I used to work as a nurse at a veterinarian’s office. I naturally liked drawing animals, and I started my career as a tattooist after getting Hyeogi tattooed on my body. I have more than 10 tattoos of him now, and the most recent one is ofWoni, Hyeogi’s younger brother who passed away unexpectedly in 2015. I was too worriedof getting sad before, actually. But now I’ve done it, I know it was a good decision – I think of good memories rather than getting sad, whenever I look at the tattoo... I guess it’s cause I can empathize, but I remember each and every one who comes in to get a tattoo of a pet who has passed away. And… One time I had a client who had 7 cats. They were all siblings, so they all had similar appearances and personalities. But when I was done, she could tell which one was which! I was very happy about that." 

"I started painting the scenes of daily life when my first dog turned 16 years old. It was for creating more memories together. But then, I received a lot of response from others, and with that, I started painting animal portraits as a career. I always remember the portraits of animals that have passed away. Some clients tell me that the works let them feel as if they’re meeting their companion animal once again – that moves me... Spending time with at such pure and innocent beings, I feel that my heart is also purified. I think they’re such special entities, a family, who can sense and share human emotions."