A woman asking to be identified only by her surname Lee feeds a stray cat named Ko-jeom near one of the four official stray cat feeding stations in western Seoul's park, Dec. 22. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

By Lee Hae-rin

As a cold snap gripped Seoul with temperatures dropping to minus 10 degrees Celsius on Thursday afternoon, two women bundled up in layers and carried a small cart toward a corner of a park in Mapo District. As Kim Jeong-hyeon, 41, and a woman in her 50s wishing to be identified only by her surname Lee, approached a small wooden feeding station nestled among the bushes, two stray cats that heard the sound of the cart came out to greet them with grateful meows.

"Hey Ko-jeom, why are you out here in this cold weather?" Lee said to one of the cats. They named a black-and-white cat with a black nose "Ko-jeom," which in Korean literally means "nose spot," she explained.

The cat rubbed its body against Lee's legs and meowed while she kept talking to this reporter. "Do you hear him? He is a very talkative cat and has a beautiful voice, too," Lee said.

Two-year-old stray cat Ko-jeom, whose name in Korean means "nose spot," is seen near a city-designated feeding station in western Seoul's park after being fed by volunteers, Dec. 22. He was named by volunteers after the black spot on his nose. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Lee then fed Ko-jeom canned cat food and a chicken filet. In the meantime, Kim got rid of the ice that had formed overnight in their plastic water bowls. She refilled the bowls with warm water and placed disposable hand warmer packs underneath to prevent them from freezing again too quickly. They were quick, nimble and silent like the cats themselves, pouring cat food into multiple bowls, mending the cat shelter and tidying up the area.

"This is what I wear only when I go feed the cats," Lee said. "Sometimes we get scratches from tree branches or bird poo dropped on us, so we choose to wear the oldest, cheapest and most-worn-out jackets, gloves and boots that we have," the volunteer with six years of experience said as she showed off her outfit.

Unaffiliated with any particular activist group, Lee and Kim voluntarily take turns along with multiple others, rain or shine, to manage the feeding stations established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in the park and feed the stray cats. They also help associated civic groups carry out trap-neuter-return (TNR) activities for newly arrived felines.

Their daily routine doing the rounds at the park takes from one to three hours. They know the names and characteristics of every kitty in the area: "Popo" has a crooked tail, "Catnip" is the pigeon-chasing leader of the alley, "Cho-rong" is shy and curious and "Ko-jeom" is talkative and charming.

Although they hardly ever see all the cats at once, they estimate from CCTV footage that over 30 cats take advantage of their feeding activities.

From left, Kim Jeong-hyeon and Lee, two volunteers who feed stray cats at city-designated feeding stations at a park in Seoul's Mapo District, take cat food out of Lee's cart, Dec. 22. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

There is no official data on stray cat feeders. According to the latest report by domestic animal advocacy group Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) released Dec. 13, the overwhelming majority, or 95.7 percent, are not affiliated with any organization. They feed cats and conduct TNR activities, spending an average of 160,000 won ($124) per month. The study surveyed over 1,500 people between April and June this year.

According to the city government's animal welfare department, the capital's stray cat population has been stabilized at 90,800 as of 2021, thanks to the collective efforts of volunteers like Kim and Lee, as well as animal rights groups and local governments conducting TNR. The figure is significantly lower than the 1990s' 300,000, when there were a lot of citizen complaints about stray cats.

While campaigning that "stray cats are members of the urban ecosystem," Seoul aims to stabilize the population to 60,000, the level deemed suitable for Seoul's circumstances, by 2027. The city government established 46 feeding stations in eight parks, managed by civic groups and solo volunteers, and spays or neuters 70 percent of the cats that feed from those stations. The city has a budget to neuter or spay 1,600 more cats next year.

However, several solo volunteers that The Korea Times interviewed said the city's efforts are still insufficient to cover the city's stray cat population. So they ― most of whom are cat owners themselves or cat-loving university students who don't have cats yet ― volunteer to do the job.

They leave cat food and water in remote corners of the city and take the sick and injured to veterinarians. They said they cannot look away from the harsh lives cats live on the city streets where they are unwelcome and treated with aggression, while surviving scorching hot summers and cold winters without regular food or water.

These good Samaritans keep a low profile to make sure their activities stay unseen and unheard. Dressed in layers to conceal their identities, they tiptoe around early in the morning or late at night when people are not there due to negative perceptions of stray cats and those who care for them.

Kang Seung-hee, 51, a veteran volunteer who has been caring for strays for over 10 years in Seongbuk District and now looks after around 100 stray cats, shared her experiences in a phone interview. She declined to meet in person out of concern for exposing the cats' feeding locations to potential animal abusers. A cat was recently killed and a city-designated feeding station destroyed by an animal abuser, which shocked her and fellow volunteers in the area.

"If a location where cats are fed ― especially an unofficial feeding spot not established by the city government ― is exposed, cat-haters might go there and mistreat them," Kang said.

In this photo taken on Nov. 11, 2021, animal activists hold a protest to call for stricter punishment for an animal torturer who led the open group chat known as an "animal version of the Nth room" on Nov. 11, 2021. Out of the 80 alleged animal abusers investigated, only one was sentenced to four months in jail, while the group chat creator was fined 3 million won. Korea Times file

Last April, controversy arose over a type of group chat called a "room specializing in gore" created and managed by animal abusers. Also known as an "animal version of the Nth room," in which sexual exploitation videos of women were shared via Telegram, vivid torture footage of cats and other animals was shared in an open group chat on KakaoTalk. A number of anonymous cat caretakers went on to locate the animal abusers, and with help from over 210,000 people who signed a petition calling for an investigation, the police launched an investigation and arrested some of them.

Hostile acts toward stray cats and their caretakers take place especially outside of city-designated feeding areas, which is why the volunteers are "so thankful to have an official (feeding) spot," in Kang's words.

They often encounter harsh remarks and criticism, mostly from the elderly, who, according to the caretakers, feel that the cats take away attention and emotional care that they as seniors deserve. Some criticize the volunteers, saying they should "give love to people instead of dirty animals," or "take those cats home if you (caretakers) love them so much," while others are cursed at and called "crazy."

Despite facing such aggression, these solo volunteers keep on going, fueled by their unbreakable love for the felines. They apologize to such angry neighbors and respond by acting more discreetly and attentively, while keeping the feeding area tidier to prevent conflicts and leave a better impression of the stray cats.

Volunteers are people who will only grow in numbers and never stop their work, as every single one of the over 100 cats that each volunteer looks after is like their "own babies," which they cannot let starve to death.

Although the issue is not as serious as it used to be some years ago, stray cats and their caretakers continue to face aggression "just because."

Cho-rong, a two-year-old stray cat, hides under a truck and eats cat food given by volunteers at a park in western Seoul's Mapo District, Dec. 22. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

"Stray cats are unowned animals and cannot be protected under the law," said Chun Myung-sun, a professor of veterinary medicine at Seoul National University who has been a stray cat caretaker herself over the years. The professor added that there are not enough legal measures in place to protect these volunteers, who are mostly women who act based on compassion and sympathy for the weak and underprivileged, whom some people think they can treat poorly. Chun underscored the need for stricter punishment for animal cruelty.

"Humans are not the only ones who live in society. They do us no harm and we need to coexist. I wish more people can think of stray cats as our neighbors who live next door," Kang said.