Dog in South Korea treks 20 km home to reunite with owner
The 11-month-old Korean Jindo pup that had gone missing at a dog convention
An 11-month-old Korean Jindo pup that had gone missing, after running away from a dog convention, has finally returned home, and netizens are happy.
This month, the story of Hong-min, a dog named after the South Korean football star Son Heung-min went viral, after he travelled 20 kilometers over 41 days, to return to his beloved human.
Hong-min lives with his human Yoon Jeong-sang in Daejeon City in South Korea. Yoon, who owns 10 other Jindos, had taken Hong-min to a dog convention about 20 kilometers away from home, on March 24.
The loud noises at the convention scared the little pup, prompting him to run away and get lost.
Distressed, his human, Yoon looked for him high and low in nearby shelters and district offices. Yet, he was unable to find his dog.
But, Hong-min, lived up to the reputation of his breed – the Korean Jindo.
Jindo is an indigenous dog breed native to the island of Jindo in South Jella Province of South Korea. Also known as Jindo-gyeon and formerly as the Chindo dog, it is one of South Korea's Natural Treasures. The breed is known for being intelligent, loyal, and for having impeccable homing instinct.
According to local news reports, 41 days after the dog went missing, Yoon heard the sound of dogs barking outside the junkyard that he runs. When he came out to check what happened, he saw a brown dog and noticed it was Hong-min standing and wagging his tail.
Yoon said Hong-min did not lose much weight or have any major injuries despite having been missing for so long, save for the ticks he carried with him. The dog has now fully recovered, he added.
Hong-min, now one year old, made local headlines after a YouTube channel posted the story on May 7, the Korea Herald reported.
Instagrammer @jrockiru posted: “Aww amazing! Glad doggy is back safe and sound.”
And, @jodiekee posted: “Son Hong-min has such great instinct.”