Prologue: Between Coolness and Passion

Part 1: Round Flat Head - Pat or Scratch

There were always animals around me.
A veterinary class where love alone is not enough
Precious pig farm training
'Cow' Shank Escape

Part 2: Cotton Ball Feet - The Subtle Relationship Between a Vet and a Cat

There was a cat, but it's gone now
Welcome, is this your first time at the animal hospital?
The novice butler is flustered, and the cat is confused.
Memories of an uneventful night shift
My first love, my first cat, Atom
The joy and delight of caring for animals
Until I fell in love with the squishy water balloons
Release the butler mode

Part 3: The Squeaky Belly - A Prescription for Lots of Love and a Little Sadness

The Veterinarian's Inner Thoughts
Words I couldn't bring myself to say
The sadness of seeing animals suffer
My rough hands, it's probably a day like war
Four Seasons at the Animal Hospital
Somewhat peculiar beings

Part 4: The Waggling Tail - Still Loves Animals

I really wish I could be on TV.
Search for 'how to create a YouTube channel'
New challenges outside the clinic
A very realistic story
tightrope walking veterinarian
Harvesting small joys after countless sorrows
The Earth is not just for humans

Epilogue: To anyone who might dream of becoming a veterinarian

From afar, it looks like "a job that matches your passion," but up close, it looks like "an extreme job."

A job where you'll be surrounded by breathtakingly cute dogs and cats, screaming in happiness all day long before you leave work.
At first glance, the profession of a veterinarian seems like the ultimate example of a job that matches one's interests.
However, the image of a veterinarian revealed in 『Today, the Vet is in Unrequited Love』 is closer to an 'extreme job' where one must constantly maintain balance and walk a tightrope.


Because of their close relationship with animals, most veterinarians choose this profession because they 'love animals', but paradoxically, being a veterinarian is a profession that requires them to experience the pain and death of the animals they love so much on a daily basis.
Veterinarians have to care for suffering animal patients, and when an animal they are treating dies, they also experience emotional turmoil and a sense of loss.
This is a contradictory job where the greater your love for animals, the greater your sadness becomes, and it is an 'extreme job' because you have to accept the extreme emotions of joy and sadness at the same time.


Veterinarian Kim Myeong-cheol, who has been at the forefront of spreading accurate knowledge and information about cats through his appearances on EBS's "Please Take Care of My Cat" and his YouTube channel "Meow Meow Punch," now reveals the joys and sorrows and reality of his "extreme job" without holding back.
Today, we invite readers into the daily life of a veterinarian struggling between joy and sorrow.


“Being a skilled veterinarian is not something that can be achieved in a short period of time. It is a title that can be given to a veterinarian who has chosen the profession of veterinarian and has worked hard throughout his or her life until retirement.
Just as we keep a notebook of wrong answers while studying, only when we can distinguish between 51 and 49 similar cases when there are seemingly 50-50 treatment options can we truly become experts in that field.”

Welcome, is this your first time at the animal hospital?

In “Today, the Vet is in Unrequited Love Again,” the author tells the inner stories of veterinarians that have not been told before.
Due to the nature of their work, veterinarians have irregular and long working hours.
When I first became a veterinarian, working six days a week, 15 hours a day was the norm. Things have improved a bit now, but I still work more hours than the average office worker and my days off are irregular.
When a beloved pet is sick, the guardian becomes anxious and sensitive, so communication with the guardian can become stressful.
Also, because pets do not have medical insurance, misunderstandings about medical expenses can easily arise.
Even if the patient's condition improves through day and night efforts, I am anxious and worried that they will be misunderstood as being only interested in money or as being ripped off with unnecessary tests.
Because the medical system is different for people, the cost of treatment at animal hospitals is bound to be relatively high, but I can't help but smile bitterly at the misunderstanding that they are making a lot of money.
This is because one in three animal hospitals that open go out of business within three years due to financial difficulties.
Because of these challenges, many veterinarians actually suffer from depression, and they reportedly have the highest burnout and suicide rates among the general public and other medical professionals.


The author also confesses that there was a time when he seriously considered quitting his job as a veterinarian, but that it was ultimately thanks to his love for animals that he was able to pull himself together again.
The sight of my dog ​​wagging its tail when I removed a grain of food that had gone up its nostril while eating, or the moment I cleared up a misunderstanding with the owner who came running in crying because he mistook a nipple for breast cancer, are all small but precious joys and rewards that keep me going as a veterinarian.
In this way, the work of a veterinarian is one that involves reaping small joys after countless sorrows, but despite such pain, the author can say that being a veterinarian is his destiny because each small joy gained is so precious.


“You can’t become a good veterinarian just by loving animals, but it’s a job where it’s difficult to endure the daily routine if you don’t love animals.
A job that inevitably leads to separation.
A job that constantly improves itself, encouraging struggling parents and, if necessary, persuading them not to give up on their children.
But the moment the blurry eyes that were on the verge of life and death look at me clearly and greet me, all the hardships disappear like snow melting in this job.
A job that protects lives by crying and laughing together with the guardian.
“This is my job, which I truly love.”

How to balance joy and sorrow

The book is full of episodes that provide a glimpse into the work and daily life of a veterinarian that is unknown to the outside world.
He wanders around looking for escaped cats and is overwhelmed by patients rushing in during his overtime shift.
Also, unexpected animals sometimes visit the hospital, leaving veterinarians perplexed.
Even as incidents that shake the veterinarian's 'mentality' occur one after another, the 24-hour life of the animal hospital unfolds in an exciting way, with moments that cross the line between life and death keeping the tension high.
Also, when people think of veterinarians, they usually think of clinical veterinarians working at animal hospitals, but the career paths of veterinarians are very diverse.
The author shares his experiences from his college days as a veterinarian and as a public health veterinarian, and introduces the lives of veterinarians working in various forms throughout society, not just as clinical veterinarians at animal hospitals but also as veterinarians working in various fields.


The author defines the profession of a veterinarian as a tightrope walk.
He says that while affection for animals is necessary, it shouldn't be sentimental, and that a sense of balance is important, being able to find balance in the turbulent polar opposites of joy and sadness, reward and pain.
The author's advice on balance applies not only to veterinarians but also to other professions.
Because we all have to live in balance between our own joys and sorrows, or between work and life.
After reading this book, you will discover what kind of center and balance you need for yourself through the image of a tightrope walker who sometimes stumbles but calmly maintains his center and moves forward one step at a time.

“Coexistence with animals begins the moment we look into their lives, understand them, and empathize with them.
If we focus solely on human pleasure, that is, on the outcomes animals provide us, animals remain mere tools, but with a modicum of empathy, we begin to see the rights that each living being possesses and deserves.
“I hope many people will become aware of the big changes that can be made with just a little interest.”