DARI Project

The pine field paths of Gyeyang Mountain are usually crowded with many hikers during the weekends. However, on one of these paths, one can also find the ARK shelter, a makeshift, volunteer-run shelter that currently houses 150 dogs rescued from a slaughterhouse dog farm that was in operation for more than a decade.

To ensure the survival of these dogs, citizens have been working together on a volunteer basis to feed the dogs and maintain proper shelters. During the hot and humid rain season, they are forced to rely on generators to power the few electrical fans that keep the shelter from reaching a lethal boiling point, and in the middle of winter, when the water in the dogs’ bowls are covered in a layer of ice, they have to set up plastic insulation sheets to keep the dogs from freezing to death. Each dog is confined to a pen measuring just 1 meter squared, wherein they are forced to defecate, sleep, and spend their entire day.

DARI helps dogs at the ARK shelter in South Korea to find a new family abroad.

DARI is the first and only South Korea-based dog adoption platform centering around dogs rescued from the dog meat trade.

This is a collaborative effort between South Korean animal rights organization CARE, the ARK dog shelter and DN Design Studio.