In Gangneung, Gangwon Province, a 42,975-square-meter animal sanctuary is home to over 1,000 animals, including tigers, hyenas, mountain goats, peacocks, and turtles. Many are old, injured, or abandoned. The sanctuary, called “Twin Animal Farm,” is run by 34-year-old Nam Woo-sung, who wakes at 6 a.m. daily to feed and care for them. What began as a small farm with a few deer and cattle, started by Nam’s 69-year-old father, has grown into a haven for unwanted animals from across South Korea.
Nam and his father officially opened the sanctuary in 2016. He had once dreamed of becoming an actor and was studying theater in Seoul, but nine years ago, he gave it up and returned home. His father had started raising deer 40 years ago, hoping their antlers would help his ailing wife regain her strength. After she recovered and gave birth to twin sons, he continued expanding the farm, simply enjoying caring for animals. As word spread, more abandoned animals arrived. Moved by his father’s passion, Nam decided to help run the sanctuary and dropped out of university.
During a visit on March 6, an eight-year-old tiger named Lucy was seen limping around her enclosure. Born with a leg condition at a zoo in Daegu, she was neglected and left in a corner until Nam took her in. She is the only animal at the sanctuary that came with a name. “At first, I named all the animals, but since their lifespans are shorter than ours, losing them became too painful. Now, I try not to,” Nam said.
Among the rescued animals is a six-year-old guanaco from a zoo in Ilsan that underwent eye removal surgery due to illness. After visitors complained that it looked “frightening,” it was confined to a storage room before being brought to the sanctuary. The sanctuary is also home to a pair of three-year-old lion siblings from Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, who were rescued after being abused by their mother. Their eyes were swollen from the mistreatment. Another resident is a 19-year-old female white tiger, saved from the now-closed Bugyeong Zoo in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Severely malnourished at the time of rescue, she has since recovered. Now, at over 90 in human years, she spends her days peacefully napping. Nam and his father continue traveling across the country, rescuing abandoned animals.
The farm also shelters abandoned pets, including dogs, cats, hamsters, parrots, meerkats, and fennec foxes. Many are secretly left near the farm. “Some owners sneak in at night and abandon their sick pets in the bushes. I can’t understand how they could do that,” Nam said. “I couldn’t just leave them to die.”
Despite charging a 9,000-won entrance fee, keeping the sanctuary running is a constant challenge. “When the weather is bad, almost no visitors come,” Nam explained. To cover food costs, he and his father also farm. His dream is to create South Korea’s first “retirement home” for animals. “I don’t want a zoo that only showcases healthy animals,” he said. “Sick and aging animals deserve a place to live, too. No life should be treated as less valuable just because it’s old or ill.”
