Animals in the City (Stories for Learning to Coexist with Animals)
- 55
• Original title : 도시의 동물들: 동물과 함께 살기 위해 시작해야 할 이야기들
• Price : 24,000KRW
• Product Dimensions :
140x200, 384pages
• Publication Date : 2025-04-11
• ISBN : 9791169813686
Book Information & Summary
written by Choi Taegyu
More and more people are beginning to reconsider how humans relate to animals. Animals in the City is the first solo work by Choi Taegyu, director of the GomBogumjari Project, who has long voiced critical insights while actively moving between sites of discussion and practice in this field. The book vividly captures the dynamic scenes of survival among animals living in Korean cities—animals struggling under the pressures of reckless urban development and the dominance of large capital. It sheds light on their hardships and the diverse ways each species tries to adapt and endure.
But the book doesn’t stop there. It closely examines the emotional stirrings in people who witness these scenes—new practices emerging on the fragile border between care and violence, and the limitations of the current animal protection movement caught between relational ethics and consumer identity. In doing so, it sharply navigates through the heated debates about animals in contemporary Korean society.
Rather than relying on abstract concepts like "animal rights," the author focuses on the unique biological traits of each species and explores how these characteristics interact with urban environments and lifestyles in Korea. The book takes readers to the front lines of life and death for animals living in cities—ranging from dogs and cats, who receive special care as human companions, to rats, pests, and pigeons often met with disgust and extermination, and even to urban wildlife like raccoons, wild boars, and egrets, often regarded as invaders.
It carefully reveals the contradictions within urban dwellers’ love for animals by addressing a wide range of issues tied to the animal industry—such as the culture of consumption and care centered around animals’ “cuteness,” the differing ethical standards applied to pets versus animals raised for food, and the disdain directed at those who care for animals in order to sell them.
How can we better channel the goodwill of those who feed stray cats, adore Fu Bao (the panda), or commit to eating less meat—for the sake of more animals? This book opens up new spaces for conversation, inviting more people to join in the urgent dialogue on how we might truly live together with animals.
More and more people are beginning to reconsider how humans relate to animals. Animals in the City is the first solo work by Choi Taegyu, director of the GomBogumjari Project, who has long voiced critical insights while actively moving between sites of discussion and practice in this field. The book vividly captures the dynamic scenes of survival among animals living in Korean cities—animals struggling under the pressures of reckless urban development and the dominance of large capital. It sheds light on their hardships and the diverse ways each species tries to adapt and endure.
But the book doesn’t stop there. It closely examines the emotional stirrings in people who witness these scenes—new practices emerging on the fragile border between care and violence, and the limitations of the current animal protection movement caught between relational ethics and consumer identity. In doing so, it sharply navigates through the heated debates about animals in contemporary Korean society.
Rather than relying on abstract concepts like "animal rights," the author focuses on the unique biological traits of each species and explores how these characteristics interact with urban environments and lifestyles in Korea. The book takes readers to the front lines of life and death for animals living in cities—ranging from dogs and cats, who receive special care as human companions, to rats, pests, and pigeons often met with disgust and extermination, and even to urban wildlife like raccoons, wild boars, and egrets, often regarded as invaders.
It carefully reveals the contradictions within urban dwellers’ love for animals by addressing a wide range of issues tied to the animal industry—such as the culture of consumption and care centered around animals’ “cuteness,” the differing ethical standards applied to pets versus animals raised for food, and the disdain directed at those who care for animals in order to sell them.
How can we better channel the goodwill of those who feed stray cats, adore Fu Bao (the panda), or commit to eating less meat—for the sake of more animals? This book opens up new spaces for conversation, inviting more people to join in the urgent dialogue on how we might truly live together with animals.