On the afternoon of the 17th of August, 2020, a shocking post was written on CNU Everytime Social Media by an anonymous user. The post brought to light the alleged removal of Gongnyangi, the unofficial pet mascot of the College of Engineering. The news raised questions for many: Why does CNU care about the cat now, after all these years, and what is going to eventually happen to our beloved mascot?
It has been months since the news broke, and The Chungdae Post’s University Department conducted an investigative report into the news. Through this report, we also conducted an interview with the adopter of Gongnyangi, now called Mio, to hear more about what happened, and how the cat is doing now.
What caused CNU to take action against Gongnyangi?
On the 9th of August, 2020, a staff member of CNU posted a formal complaint on the school’s online bulletin board regarding Gongnyangi. According to the post, the school has been working on a solution to the Gongnyangi problem since the 7th of August.
The post highlighted multiple problems associated with having a stray cat roaming around school buildings. According to the post, there have been multiple cases of disruptions caused by Gongnyangi, such as her sitting on top of school and personal property and equipment, sleeping on sofas and chairs, etc., and causing unnecessary health and safety concerns for both people and other animals.
With the concerns brought to light and given the recommendations of the school veterinarian, the person responsible for facilities management of the College of Engineering and the school decided to move Gongnyangi to a mountain far from the school, before the second semester of 2020.
How did people react to the news?
The contents of the bulletin post regarding Gongnyangi were reposted by an anonymous user on the CNU Everytime Social Media network on the 17th of August. Most students found the news shocking and considered the response of the school to be fatal to the cat. “The thought of the cat being released into Gyeryong Mountain horrifies me,” an anonymous student commented. “[How will the cat survive] in the wild after being taken care of by people for so long?” commented another anonymous student.
Other students, however, criticized the act of taking care of the cat without any responsibility, which ultimately led to the school’s decision. “I don’t find the news that upsetting. What upsets me is that people were the ones who made the cat rely on them, and I see nobody claiming responsibility for what they have done,” commented an anonymous student. “I agree,” replied another student, “It seems meaningless to say, ‘don’t release the cat into the wild,’ if they cannot adopt it and solve the problem themselves.”
 

A hero student comes forward
Despite the criticism, some students actually decided to take responsibility for the cat. On the 31st of August, two students went to the CNU authorities to announce their intention to officially adopt Gongnyangi, after confirming that it belonged to no previous owner. The cat now belongs to a CNU student, and it is now called Mio.
To hear more about the story from the perspective of the adopter, The Post contacted the
adopter on the 25th of September and conducted an interview online due to COVID-19. We asked several questions about the incident and how Mio (Gongnyangi) is doing now. The response is detailed below.


The Interview
Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
A: Hello, I am a CNU student temporarily taking care of Gongnyangi.
Q: Why did you decide to adopt Gongnyangi, and how was the process of adoption?
A: The school wanted to release the cat into the wild after an official request was made by a College of Engineering Hall II member of staff.

However, the cat has lost its hunting instinct due to it being domesticated by students feeding it cat food for so long, and it felt as though releasing it into the wild was the same as abandonment. Therefore, I decided to adopt the cat.

There was another student that wanted to adopt the cat before I did, but due to an unexpected health problem, I decided to temporarily adopt Gongnyangi and find its next adopter. The school wanted to release Gongnyangi into the wild in September 2020, so that’s why the process of adoption was hurried. A CNU staff member caught the cat and gave her to me.


Q: You named Gongnyangi Mio, giving her a real name. How did you choose the name?
A: Gongnyangi is talkative, and her meowing sounds uniquely like mi-ya-ong. That is where the name, Mio, comes from.
Q: Have you heard from other people who want to adopt Mio? What will you do if nobody is willing to adopt Mio?
A: There was one person who wanted to adopt Gongnyangi, but they haven’t followed up on their messages. If there are no people willing to adopt Gongnyangi, I will continue to take care of her for the foreseeable future.
Q: Photos of Mio are posted regularly on Everytime Social Media, thanks to you. Why did you decide to upload photos on social media?
A: Gongnyangi is loved by the students of CNU, as an unofficial mascot. I know that a lot of students love Gongnyangi, not just me, so I wanted to provide updates on how well the cat is doing.
Q: Has your lifestyle changed after adopting Mio?
A: After Mio came to my home, I began to stay at home longer, and eventually, my daily life started to revolve around Mio. The cost of taking care of Mio is quite expensive, so I started a part-time job.
Q: Do you want to share any happy, or even difficult stories, about living with Mio?
A: Just seeing Mio sleeping beside me makes me happy and thankful. However, giving Mio medication is difficult since she has Periodontitis. Mio hates taking medication.
Q: Lastly, is there anything that you would like to say to our readers?
A: I know about the feelings and thoughts that people have about Mio, and, therefore, I will continue to post regular updates about her.

A Happy Ending, and a Lesson Learned

Thankfully, the end of our investigation saw a happy ending. Although Mio has left her home in the College of Engineering, she has found a new, safer, more welcome home. She does not have to fend for her survival, and CNU students still get to see their unofficial mascot through regular posts by her new friend.

Additionally, we could all learn something from this incident: if you want to keep a pet, do so responsibly! Without responsibilities, we may see another Gongnyangi-like incident in the near future.

We would like to send a special thanks to the interviewee for agreeing to be interviewed at short notice.

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