Online Cat Trend

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More and more people in Korea are choosing to adopt cats. Online content related to fluffy felines is also growing more and more popular. Take a look.

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Kim Da-eun can boast about her adorable feline for hours.

[Soundbite] "Isn't she adorable? (She is really cute.)"

She also buys cat snacks, but when she comes home, her cat is nowhere to be seen. In fact, she can only see her fluffy bundle of joy on the Internet. Da-eun is one of the so-called "Internet cat butlers," a term that refers to people who care for other people's cats over the Internet. They can interact with the kitties in real time and send them presents, such as clothes and food.

[Soundbite] Kim Da-eun (Internet Cat Butler): "I can't afford to have a cat of my own. I like their fierce, stubborn and proud personality."

This bookstore adorned with huge wooden cat dolls has more than 500 books on cats. It also holds seminars for ardent cat lovers. Classes on making magnets shaped like cat buttocks are especially popular. With more than three million pet cats in Korea, sales of books about cats have surged 40 percent year-on-year. The irresistible charm of these proud yet adorable animals has earned them an extensive fan base in Korea.