In early May, I shared a story of a Korean man, Seongwon LEE, a former Marine Corps officer turned government official, who set foot on a 560-kilometer Journey from Seoul to Busan for Service Dogs and Veterans. On 13 May 2025, we met again after his historical campaign, Walkation for Heroes, which concluded at the Republic of Korea Army Military Working Dog (ROKA MWD) Training Center in Chuncheon.

What began as a personal challenge evolved into a meaningful national journey, and he explained his final goal to Pressenza. “In 11 days, I walked a total of 551.05 kilometers, took 661,255 steps, and—with help from supporters—reached 1,000,000 steps. I matched each step with a 1 KRW donation, amounting to a personal contribution of 1,000,000 KRW, which was delivered on May 13, 2025, to the Republic of Korea Army Military Working Dog (ROKA MWD) Training Center in Chuncheon.”

When asked why he walked that far, he says, “ I’ve visited both Seoul National Cemetery, Korea’s sacred ground for national heroes, and UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan, where foreign defenders of Korea rest. As MPVA’s International Spokesperson, the idea struck me—what if I connected these two places of honor through my own footsteps? The idea grew into something more than just a walk. I coined it a “Walkation”—a walk + vacation—but added one more ingredient: donation. And then came the dogs. Back in February 2024, I traveled to Canada to submit Korea’s bid for the 2029 Invictus Games. I saw Team USA bring their “service dogs” to the Games, and people loved it. Even Prince Harry, the founder of the Games, personally greeted those four-pawed companions. That got me thinking—what about Korea’s retired military working dogs?

For the past ten years, at the end of each year, I have been adding a monthly donation to nine different NGOs.  My latest addition in 2024 was Our Vision, an NGO working to improve the welfare of service animals. I love animals, especially dogs. I wanted this time to make a bigger and more direct donation for dogs. I know this campaign would have gained more attention if it had been about human veterans, especially since that’s my actual job. But I believe someone needs to shed light on the unshined corners. That’s where I found working dogs.”

The 560-kilometer walk gave him great lessons to share with our readers.

1. Small things lead to big things. On Day 2, it rained like hell. My feet got soaking wet, and a tiny blister formed on the side of my left foot. That tiny 2mm blister forced me to walk funny, which ruined my ankle, then my knee, and eventually my pelvis. It all started from that tiny blister. But from a different angle, this means even a small, personal action can start something big.

2. Good and bad coexist. Rain kept cyclists off the path—great for walkers like me since bikes can feel dangerous and demoralizing as they zoom past. But rain also caused my blister. Uphills felt like divine punishment… but they were also signs that a downhill was coming to reward me. Life’s like that—good and bad always mixed together.

3. You either quit, break, or improvise. After I got injured, I found an abandoned aluminum farming stick. I wrapped socks around the top and tied it with a bandage to make a handle. Boom—my very own walking stick. Without it, I wouldn’t have made it to Day 6, when I finally met my kick scooter. When you take “quitting” off the table, everything else becomes surprisingly simple.

4. You always end up where you started. No matter how far you go, you return to the same longitude, latitude, and altitude. What changes is time—and who you’ve become. After 11 days on the road, I was back home. Same place, but a different person, with 1 million KRW raised for retired military dogs.

5. Korea is beautiful. This was my first time taking the Seoul-Busan bike route, and I was amazed! No wonder so many foreigners take on this route. The weather was perfect too. The only downside? I walked south every morning with the sun on my left… so only my left side got sunburned.

In the future, he plans to expand the Challenge. He wants to scale this into a national campaign using apps like Big Walk, where people can log their steps and turn them into donations, and Build a Memorial, where he dreams of placing a small statue for working dogs in front of Seoul National Cemetery or the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. In addition, he would look to foster government collaboration.

Mr. Seongwon LEE can be reached on Instagram: @walk4pawskorea  or  Email: reasonwon231@gmail.com