Jung Myoung Sook, 61, is a South Korean woman who has dedicated the last 26 years of her life to saving dogs from shelters and the streets. She is very poor, but whatever she has is shared with her canine friends, and she manages to live a happy life.

Though she is seen as odd in Korea, where dogs have only just become popular as pets and have been considered a delicacy for hundreds of years, many around the world see Sook as an animal rights hero, says The Associated Press. Sook saves dogs that live sad lives in shelters and buys dogs that are in danger of being sold for meat.

The video below from Wochit News shows the smiling woman who has built a makeshift shelter for these dogs. She lives in a hillside compound with 200 dogs that she keeps happy and fed, reported The Quick Post.

Even though she makes a living by cleaning a store and collecting recyclables, she uses whatever she makes to care for these animals, and they look healthy and well-fed indeed.

She spends $1,600 monthly on food and medicine for herself and the dogs, and she receives many donations of soy milk, canned meat, dog food and pork. One restaurateur has been donating leftover pork to Sook for four years now. "She lives only for her dogs without doing much for herself," said Park Hye-soon, the restaurateur, according to the Associated Press.

"My babies aren't hungry. They can play and live freely here. Some people talk about me, saying, 'Why is that beggar-like middle-aged woman smiling all the time,' but I just focus on feeding my babies. I'm happy and healthy," said Sook, according to the Associated Press.