For some people, the desire to create, design, and experiment with art flows constantly. Meagan Mastriani is certainly one of those people; when she’s not working her day job in digital marketing, she is “a weaver, zinester, doodler and writer (mostly in my journal!).” She confesses that she’s always filling her free time with creative projects. “Right now I’m weaving linen tea towels and building my own tapestry loom.”

Meagan has been a creative force for many years. After graduating college, she moved to South Korea to teach English. While there, she picked up a few side gigs as a freelance writer, editor, and photographer. “Living as an expat and creative professional was so exciting and inspiring,” she explains.

She also picked up a more than that creative work: she found what might have been the most adorable dog in South Korea. “Bingsoo is a five-year-old, seven-pound mix. Most people think she is a chihuahua, but I think she is part bat – my favorite thing about her is her huge ears and eyes!” Meagan says. She adopted Bingsoo from a shelter in Daejeon. “I fell in love with her sweet personality and high energy.”

Meagan says that Bingsoo – whose name comes from a sweet Korean shaved ice dessert – is “resilient and full of love.” The little black pup came with Meagan to the U.S. when she moved back home. “Her companionship was definitely a huge comfort to me while abroad and readjusting to life at home.”

But before she met Bingsoo, Meagan still got her fill of puppy love. In many parts of South Korea, dog and cat cafes are popular establishments. Not familiar? Imagine your standard American coffee shop, but full of dogs or cats that you can visit, play with, or simply enjoy the company of while enjoying an afternoon tea.

“At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of the dog and cat cafes,” Meagan says. “I worried that they would be inhumane or dirty; but after I went, I thought they were great.” Although sometimes noisy, the ones she visited were clean and well kept. “All [the animals] get a lot of love from the staff and everyone who visits the cafe, so I think they have pretty sweet lives.”

She admits she’s not quite sure how the dog cafes started, but she has an idea. “It’s seen as a luxury to have an animal at home. So maybe these cafes began as a way for busy, petless people to get a dose of that companionship without the responsibility of long-term care.”

She’s also careful to point out that the cafes shouldn’t feed into the idea some Westerners have about Korea being a little bizarre. “These are normal places where normal people go,” she explains. “You’ll see families with kids, groups of college students out with friends, young couples on dates – just regular people enjoying a unique experience.”

Her advice to American visitors? “Don’t visit one expecting a huge spectacle (and please don’t go and make a huge spectacle either!).”

Photo Credit: Meagan Mastriani