August 6, 2024
Genlin, founder of World Dog Alliance (WDA), led a team to visit Former President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and held talks with Moon at Pyeongsan Bookstore on the outskirts of Busan. When former President Moon was in office, he advocated for the ban on dog meat and started an extensive consultation across the country on legislating for banning dog meat in South Korea. The consultation that started in 2021 lasted more than two years and spanned two administrations. A total of more than 20 meetings were held with different sectors. This has played an important role in organizing public opinion and laid the essential foundation for South Korea’s subsequent legislative success in 2024. In addition to being deeply loved in political circles and among Koreans, former President Moon Jae-in is also a huge figure in Asia’s legislative movement to ban dog meat.
As early as 2017, World Dog Alliance held a public event in the name of President Moon’s adopted dog, Teri, to promote dog adoption in Seoul, and received support from President Moon’s daughter who attended the event. President Moon’s love for dogs deeply moved Genlin, founder of World Dog Alliance, and so Genlin painted “President Moon and His Dog” in 2018, a giant oil painting standing over 2.5 meters tall, as a private collection.
During the meeting on August 6, Genlin expressed his gratitude to former President Moon Jae-in for South Korea’s successful legislation on banning dog meat, and raised his hopes for South Korea and the United States to jointly initiate the “International Agreement to Prohibit the Eating of Dogs and Cats,” to which President Moon expressed support.
As part of this meeting with President Moon, Genlin ensured the painting “President Moon and His Dog” was brought from Hong Kong to South Korea as a gift: everyone was in awe the moment when the huge oil painting was erected in the front yard of Pyeongsan Bookstore! With Teri, the dog in the painting, having passed away not long ago in February 2024 due to heart attack, receiving the oil painting at this time was particularly moving to President Moon. President Moon took the oil painting from Genlin and expressed his gratitude, forming a friendship between the two. President Moon will later hang the oil painting at his current residence in Yangsan City.
