"Over the Han River, frozen solid, a cat is walking," goes a popular internet meme that swept across Korean social media last year.
Lee Dong-hak, the MBN video journalist who filmed the original clip of a cat crossing the river, revealed through his YouTube channel last week that he located and adopted the very female cat that inadvertently sparked the meme.
Originally aired on Dec. 27, 2021, the news clip covered a cold snap that gripped the country, freezing a part of the wide river running through the nation's capital. However, it went viral for the anchor's description of the lonely cat's walk once it was spotted, particularly his use of the word "kong kong" — a Korean onomatopoeia for the state of being frozen solid.
The somewhat rhythmic phrasing led internet users to add a melody and rhythm to the clip, which spurred a TikTok dance trend. It took off, with K-pop stars including IU, members of Twice, Seventeen, aepa’s Karina and BTS’ Jin taking part in the "Kong-nyangi Challenge," named by combining the slang word for cat, "nyangi," with kong from kong kong.
The popular meme led to the stray cat being found by someone on the internet, who posted her photo and the information that she was seen at Ttukseom Hangang Park in Seoul.
"I've always felt bad for not caring for the cat who gave so much joy to the people," Lee wrote in the YouTube video. "I thought there was little chance I would find her, but I went anyway. ... Then I saw a cat, and I knew instantly it was the one that I filmed that day."
Lee said he recognized the cat by the patterns on her fur and got close by feeding her every night. He eventually adopted her and named her Kong Kong, after the popular meme.
The journalist said he logged onto the animal protection information system to find that a female cat resembling her had been neutered in March of 2021.
He also found online photos and videos that appear to be of Kong Kong dating back to April of 2020. In them, she appeared younger with both her ears intact. Clipping the ear is a standard procedure here after neutering a stray cat.
Based on this information, he presumed that Kong Kong was born sometime in 2019.
The two videos about the popular cat getting a home have garnered over 400,000 views as of Wednesday.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
