One in four Korean households owns pets

With one out of four households in Korea owning pets, the cost of keeping pets per month was found to be around 150,000 won per month.

In the 2023 Korea Pet Report issued by the KB Financial Holding Business Management Research Institute in April, the number of households keeping pets in Korea as of the end of 2022 was 5.52 million, around 2.8% higher than two years ago and around 25.7% of overall households. The report was based on a survey of 2,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 69 and Statistic Korea’s census survey.

It was found that the average household spent around 154,000 won per month,14,000 won higher than 140,000 won in 2021. By pet type, households with dogs spent around 148,000 won, while cat owners spent 136,000 won. Around 73.4% of households had experienced spending on treating their pets for the last two years (2021-2022), with an average cost of 787,000 won.

Only 21.5% saved up money for pet rearing, with only 11.9% of households buying pet insurance. Many households said they were not interested in pet insurance due to financial burden and limited coverage, though they were aware of pet insurance products.

The Maltese (25.9%) was the most popular dog breed, followed by the poodle (21.4%). The most preferred cat breed was the Korean shorthair (62.1%), followed by the Persian (15.0%) and Russian Blue (11.9%).


wskang@donga.com