Rescued cows inspire S. Korean village's vegan move

Livestock farming community hopes to draw younger residents and boost tourism

- Wendy Teo

INJE COUNTY, South Korea - In the small mountain village of Sinwolri, home to fewer than 100 people, hopes are high that its five new bovine residents will help rejuvenate the village.

The "Flower Cows", as they are affectionately called, were discovered at an unlicensed farm in Incheon in 2021, and they were facing certain death unless they could be re-homed.

Through the efforts of animal activist group Animal Liberative Wave (ALW), the elders in the Sinwol-ri village-located two hours away by car from Seoul - agreed to take them in.

While the village relies on agricultural produce and cattle livestock for its economy, the arrival of the Flower Cows has inspired it to pivot to becoming South Korea's first "vegan village", in a bid to attract younger residents and domestic tourists to reverse the extinction risk brought by rural depopulation.

The vegan-village idea to rejuvenate the place was mooted by ALW activists, and, despite initial misgivings, mayor Jeon Do-hwa, 75, managed to convince "95 per cent" of the residents to support the project.

He said that the villagers were hesitant about the vegan move as some of them are in the livestock business and had no intention of giving it up. They were also not familiar with the concept of veganism.

Mr Jeon assured them that the intention was for a peaceful coexistence between the farms and the village plan to become a vegan sanctuary of sorts.

He also stated that he was not asking all the villagers to switch to a strict plant-based diet, but for them to start embracing and promoting a vegan diet among residents and visitors.