Year of the Dog: Korea Pet Industry Review 2018
According to the Korean zodiac, 2018 is the Year of the Golden Dog, however based on the current trend in Korea it may be right to redefine it as the year of the Pampered Dog. While walking the streets of big cities in Korea, such as Seoul or Busan, it is hard not to notice the small and well cared puppies that walk with their owners with a great pleasure. In many cases, they are seated in a stroller or carried by their owners in a carrier very much like babies. At first glance, it seems strange, but it shows the special treatment pets get in Korea, especially the smaller ones.
Data provided by the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture show that in 2010 about 17.4% of the Korean households owned at least one pet, while in 2015 the rate increased to 21.8%. Similar data were found in a survey conducted by the world’s fourth largest research firm, GfK, in 2015. The respondents were asked to report which pets they have, if any. It turned out that dogs are the most popular pet followed by the fish. Some of the respondents own more than one pet.
This means that in South Korea, a country of 51 million people, every fifth person is a happy owner of a pet, about ten million people. According to the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the number of pets in 2015 was about 7 million, and in 2017 it increased to about 10 million pets. About seventy percent of them are dogs.
The increase in pet-owning households naturally led to an increase in the pet industry market size. While in 2012, the Korean pet industry market size was around $790 million, three years later by 2015 the market doubled to $1.7 billion. According to forecasts by NongHyup, The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the pet industry in Korea is expected to triple its size to 5.1 billion dollars in about three years.
The adoption and ownership of pets has been reinforced by the emerging demographic changes in Korea — aging, world’s lowest birth rate and late marriage. This situation has accelerated the development of single person household category. The category increased sharply from 1995 to 2016 by 216.9% and is currently the largest household category in Korea with a rate of 27.2%. As a result, while in European countries there is a direct correlation between the number of children in a household and the rate of ownership and adoption of pets, South Korea has the opposite or nonexistent relationship. As a substitute for a spouse or child, it was found that the rate of adoption and ownership of pets among single person households was the largest compared to other household categories.
Among pets in Korea, as mentioned above, there is a preference for dogs, or to be precise for puppies. The most popular dog breeds with 24.9% is the Maltese dog, followed by Shih-Tzu dogs (15.3%), Miniature Poodle (9.7%), Yorkshire Terriers and Jindo a local Korean breed. One of the reasons for the preference of small dogs derives from the common living conditions in South Korea — dense cities with high rise apartment buildings.
Another, equally important, reason is that medium and large dogs are still perceived by the general population as deterrent, frightening, and sometimes dangerous, either because of their size or because of the intensity of their barking. So while smaller dogs gain affection and sympathy by pedestrians on the city’s streets, large dogs can cause unpleasantness or fear and in rare cases even aggressive responses from pedestrians.
According to combined data from the Korea Association of Pet Industry, the Korean Statistics Authority and the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the main sectors of the pet industry are food and medical care. In 2016 the food products sector generated $591 million a year (33%), while the medical and health care sectors, reached to $555 million (31%). Other sectors include supplies (about 20%), services (about 10%) and other transactions, including pet sales (about 6%).
Pets in South Korea are considered as family members and therefore get special treatment and care. According to the Korean Consumer Agency, on average, Korean household spend about US $120 on pets, 40% of it spent on food.
To continue reading the full and detailed market review about the Pet Food Sector, Pet Supplies Sector, Pet Service Sector, Pet Sale and Distribution Channels and the Business opportunities in the Korean Pet Market please visit our website at: http://www.koisra.co.kr/en/business-data/387-year-of-the-dog-korea-pet-industry-review-2018.html