(image: Gumi City Government)
BUSAN, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Every time 36-year-old Park leaves her home in Busan with her pet Maltese, she wishes she could do more than just take a walk around the block with Mongi, or take him to a dog café.
As a very active 3-year-old male dog, Mongi needs a larger space to run around other than the confines of a pet café.
“I wish I could take Mongi to an exciting place, somewhere like the amusement parks that children go to have fun,” said Park.
Many pet owners like Park dream of a spacious venue where their pets can jump around without having to be concerned about what other people think.
In order to make this dream into a reality, the municipality of Yeonje-gu in Busan is pushing for a “playground for pets” of 500 square meters, with construction expected to be completed by 2020 if the project gets the green light.
The park is linked to a campaign pledge made by Lee Seong-mun, the head of Yeonje-gu. The playground for small and mid-sized pets will feature a grass lawn and playground facilities.
The district government of Yeonje-gu is considering public land near Oncheon-cheon, a tributary of the Suyeong River, as a possible site for the playground.
Aside from the money needed to acquire the land, the project is expected to cost around 150 million won.
At present, playgrounds for pets are already under operation in many locations, primarily in the metropolitan area surrounding Seoul such as Children’s Grand Park, Gwanggyo Lake Park in Gyeonggi Province, and Giheung Lake Park.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
