Korean K9 Rescue (KK9R)

Korean K9 Rescue (KK9R) was set up in New York in 2017 by Gina Boehler, who had been rescuing dogs and cats since 2012. It rescues dogs from South Korea, many of them Jindos and Jindo mixes, taken from dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, illegal breeding operations and areas hit by wildfires, and finds them adoptive homes, mainly in New York City, Boston and Los Angeles.

In March 2020 it opened the KK9 Bundang rescue centre outside Bundang in Seongnam, south of Seoul, which is run as an independent entity under Korean law. Rescued dogs are cared for, vaccinated and trained there before travelling. In 2023 the centre covered about 20,000 sq ft and held 125 to 150 dogs at a time, looked after round the clock by a team of trainers, with dozens of volunteers visiting at weekends. The rescue says it has placed thousands of dogs in homes.

Dogs fly from Incheon to New York, often with flight volunteers: travellers on direct flights who take a dog with them as excess baggage in the aircraft's pet hold, with KK9R handling the paperwork and transport at both ends. In the US, dogs go to foster homes until they are adopted.

To adopt, browse the available dogs on the KK9R website or Petfinder and submit an application. You can also foster in the New York area, volunteer at the Bundang centre, sign up as a flight volunteer, or donate. Korean K9 Rescue Inc. is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit (EIN 81-4950261), so donations are tax-deductible in the US; it holds a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Its 2026 appeal is raising money to repair monsoon and flood damage at the Bundang centre before winter.