South Koreans turn to tarot to glean their pets’ thoughts
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Ryu Su-mi and her dog E-seul get a pet tarot reading at a pet tarot cafe in Seoul, South Korea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- South Koreans increasingly use tarot readings to understand their pets' feelings, reflecting the rise in pet ownership amid low birth rates.
- Tarot reader Hwang Soo-kyung offers pet-specific tarot sessions, interpreting cards to reveal animals' hidden emotions and health issues.
- Owners find pet tarot insightful, helping them recognise unseen trauma or anxiety in their pets, deepening their bond and care.
AI generated
SEOUL – A greyhound named Khan sniffs at a spread of tarot cards at a fortune-telling shop in the South Korean capital of Seoul, before placing a paw on one.
Across the table, his owner, Ahn Hye-joo, waits anxiously to learn the meaning of the card, which depicts a dog chasing its owner.
Hwang Soo-kyung, a tarot reader who runs the Ace Sophia fortune-telling parlour in the city’s upmarket Gangnam district, said the image indicated anxiety related to the five puppies fathered by the pedigree animal.
“These feelings Khan experiences are something vets or dog trainers do not know, since it does not manifest as a major issue to them,” said his owner Ahn, whose eyes lit up as she listened.
A growing niche offering among fortune-telling shops, pet tarot is driven by a surge in pet ownership as fewer South Koreans choose to have children, deterred by costly housing and education.
Government surveys show 29.2 per cent of homes in South Korea, which has the world’s lowest birth rate, were raising pets in 2026, up from 17.4 per cent in 2010.
Hwang, who opened her shop in 2014, said demand for pet tarot has grown as owners increasingly view the animals as family or, sometimes, a sole domestic companion.
Ahn Hye-joo and her dog Khan get a pet tarot reading at a pet tarot cafe in Seoul, South Korea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
No clients have ever limited themselves to just one session, at a cost of 20,000 won (S$18) each, she added.
“They come back because once you start asking what your dog is thinking, you cannot really stop,” said Hwang.
She designed a deck of the cards for pets, which sometimes include turtles and reptiles, in response to customers’ queries on whether she could discern their pets’ thoughts.
If a pet chooses a card featuring swords, for example, that can signal the animal is physically unwell, perhaps suffering from joint pain, Hwang added.
Some owners feel the readings provide more than entertainment.
Ryu Su-mi brought in her rescue dog, E-seul, who has been skittish around anyone dressed like a paramedic ever since Ryu collapsed at home and was hospitalised.
Hwang said the dog’s choice of card showed the trauma was still there, but healing.
“I’d have no way of knowing that on my own,” Ryu said. “We look each other in the eye every day, but there is clearly a lot we are missing.” REUTERS
