▲ Shin Seung-hyun, CEO of ACE Corporation

Around 10 million people are living with a pet in Korea according to a report. The market is valued around KRW 2.3 trillion won as of 2016 with predicted KRW 3 trillion won this year and KRW 6 trillion won by 2020. Considering the market size and trend, it is not surprising to see the advent of the new word ‘petconomy (pet + economy)’ that covers from pet café to pet food, pet beauty and pet goods. “However, it is notable that dogs take 80% of the pet market in Korea so I focused my business specialized in dods” says ACE Corporation CEO Shin Seung-hyun who is running 4 pet dog beauty academies at the moment to meet the increasing market demand. According to Shin, there are about 100 pet dog academies in Korea but only 11 of them including ACE Corporation in Bucheon and Ilsan have licenses to receive state fund for the training since the government strengthened the regulations in late 2017. When it comes to the number of students, however, ACE Corporation is unrivaled as it boasts excellent curriculum and student administration system. “We produce around 100 state funded students every year thanks to our excellent training system and highly skilled industry specialists. Also, to maximize the job opportunity, ACE Corporation launched ‘All That Dog’, a premium pet salon, last April in Cheongra, Seo District, Incheon. All That Dog is designed for students to practice what they have learned and helps them obtain a certificate and support them to start their own business.” All That Dog also sells premium dog goods and lend dogs. “The professional pet dog designers at All That Dog make 100% sure on the pedigree as well as the health and hygiene of the dogs. Yet the price is reasonable enough as we cut off the intermediary distribution.” It is worth knowing that Shin currently is a judge of pet dog contests held by the KKC and also active as a handler of a number of famous dog shows overseas. “If you are thinking of renting a dog, I advise you to think why you want to do it before being enchanted by how cute the dog looks like and you carrying it with you to show off that you are trendy person. A dog is a living thing like us and it takes a care and responsibility.”
<Power Korea> endeavors to ‘rewrite’ Korean article into ‘plain English’