At a time, many are abandoning their pets due to squeeze in income levels amid the Covid 19 pandemic, it seems that the South Koreans are taking to dogs and cats to beat their Covid 19 pandemic blues.

Official data showed that the country during the January to August period imported twice as many cats and dogs this year compared with two years ago.

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According to Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, the country’s customs office said the hike is “largely attributable to the pandemic-era social distancing mandates and the expansion of working from home that made more people stay at home.”

Data showed that the number of cats and dogs brought into the country via air carriers reached 10,241 in the January-August period this year, including 7,961 canines and 2,280 felines.

Though dogs are preferred more as pets, a large number of South Koreas are now falling in love with cats.

Goyang, a city with one million people, which has been known for flower festival, has been struggling to differentiate itself from its peers.

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The local authorities decided to go with the image of a cat. Though the suggestion came about as a joke, “Choi Seo-young, a public relations official who handled the city’s social media, suggested they test the idea on the city’s very unpopular Facebook page with a cat she drew on a piece of paper,” said ABC News.

Goyang’s Facebook account had about 2,000 followers at the time, the news organisation said but it added that within just 24 hours after they swapped the profile picture to a cat named “Goyang-goyang-yi,” social media users went into a frenzy. “The mascot was an instant success, with people both from within the city and around the country wanting to interact with the feline character,” ABC News said.