South Korean president's rescue pets are so popular they have their own fan art
The internet loves cats. And puppers. And doggos.
So you'd be pleased to find out that South Korea's First Pets are all from shelters, and that they're cute as heck.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in introduced his cat -- Jjing-jjing -- to the country's presidential mansion yesterday (May 14):
Jjing-jjing is coming to the Blue House alongside Maroo and Tory, Moon's dogs. The cat rose to fame during Moon's first presidential campaign in 2012, when Moon ran against Park Geun-hye.
The cat seems to be adapting well to the Blue House -- but Moon tweeted his concerns about how Jjing-jjing -- a adept bird-catcher -- might attack a flycatcher who had built a nest.
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"Jjing-jjing has arrived, but I have a concern," he tweeted. "There are five baby flycatchers living in the nest between a glass window and a sliding paper window."
Moon added that the cat would "occasionally surprise" him at his old residence with dead birds.
The recently elected president had also promised to adopt Tory, a homeless dog from Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), a Korean animal rights group, during his campaign.
Tory was considered unpopular with would-be adopters, because of stigma against black dogs in Korea.
"My family and I anticipate the day to welcome Tory as a new member and will make sure he adjusts well to the new environment," Moon was reported as saying by the Korea Herald.
Tory will also join Maroo, one of Moon's first dogs.
Moon wrote about how Maroo "found love" and had puppies with another homeless dog, Jisoon, near his old residence on Naver last July.
Moon -- an animal-friendly candidate who pledged to construct more playgrounds for pets and feeding facilities for stray cats -- wrote: "If we think about it, there is no life in the world that is not precious... Through Jisoon and her puppies, I think about the preciousness of life and the mysteries of fate."
The puppies were eventually put up for adoption.
Moon's love for animals has even inspired fan illustrations:
Moon's predecessor, Park Geun-hye, had previously kept nine Jindo dogs at the Blue House. She was widely criticised after abandoning them when she moved out of the presidential mansion following her impeachment.
The dogs have since found new homes, according to a Blue House spokesperson.
I am an intern with Mashable Asia, focusing on viral news, lifestyle news and feature news in the region.
