[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), 'home-stay exercise,' which involves engaging in physical activity while watching videos at home or indoors, is gaining attention. A representative example is the significant public interest in video content featuring national athletes introducing basic movements. As social distancing measures limit the operation of indoor sports facilities, the demand for exercising through videos is expected to continue for the time being.
According to the YouTube channel operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 2nd, the video titled "Home-Stay Exercise Using a Soccer Ball Taught Directly by Teacher Son," featuring soccer star Son Heung-min (Tottenham) as an instructor, reached 60,000 views within ten days of being uploaded on the 22nd of last month. This attracted considerable attention compared to other videos on the Ministry's account, which typically receive only hundreds to thousands of views on average.
◆ Stretching Taught by 'SON' = In this video, Son Heung-min demonstrated and explained simple stretching and indoor exercise movements using a soccer ball, together with an exercise prescriber from the 'National Fitness 100' project, allowing viewers to follow along.
Earlier, the content titled "Home-Stay Exercise Learned from National Athletes," posted on the 2nd of last month, recorded over 93,000 views in one month. This video, titled "Overcome COVID-19 with National Gymnastics Together with National Athletes," featured participants such as gymnast Yang Hak-seon, Yeo Seo-jeong, volleyball player Lee Da-young, and former rhythmic gymnastics national athlete Shin Su-ji.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained, "If the source of the video is indicated, it can be freely used in remote classes and is also being utilized as physical education material in schools where in-person classes have been postponed due to COVID-19."
Additionally, in collaboration with the Korea Paralympic Committee, the Ministry released a "home-stay exercise" video tailored for people with disabilities, featuring Han Min-soo, bronze medalist in ice hockey at the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, and Hong Seok-man, an athlete representative of the International Paralympic Committee in athletics.
◆ 8 out of 10 Have Tried 'Home Training' = In fact, interest in home training that can be done at home has increased since the spread of COVID-19. According to a survey conducted by Lotte Members through the research platform Lime on the 2nd and 3rd of last month targeting 1,600 men and women aged 20 and over, 78.1% of respondents said they have exercised at home. The proportion of people who do home training at least once a week also reached 80.3%.
According to a survey conducted by the online research company PMi targeting 298 men and women aged 20 to 50 who do home training at least once a week, 67.1% of respondents said they "follow videos such as YouTube and diet videos," which was the highest response.
Considering the demand for home training, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is holding a national video contest on the theme of home-stay exercise until the 17th. Videos filmed on themes such as "Exercising at home without causing noise to neighbors," "Exercising with children," and "Exercising using everyday objects" can be submitted through social networking services (SNS).
A Ministry official said, "We plan to continue supporting online exercise content featuring national athletes and popular stars so that people can safely enjoy various physical activities indoors."
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