Golf 'Ranked 2nd in Joining Lifestyle Sports Clubs'

Announcement of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's National Sports for All Survey Results
Soccer and Futsal Rank 1st... Sports for All Participation Rate at 61.2%

Golf has been found to be highly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the top sports for joining recreational sports clubs, golf ranked second after soccer and futsal. This is according to the 2022 National Recreational Sports Survey (based on data from September 2021 to September 2022), conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on 9,000 citizens aged 10 and older across 17 cities and provinces nationwide, announced on the 12th.

The membership rate for sports clubs (including school clubs and sports clubs) rose by 3.4 percentage points from the previous year to 16.9%. The most popular sports for membership were soccer and futsal (18.4%), golf (16.7%), badminton (9.7%), bowling (7.7%), and tennis (7.1%). When asked about sports they would like to do if they had more free time, swimming (9.2%) was ranked first, and if they had more money, golf (16.2%) was the top choice.

The overall participation rate in recreational sports among the population was 61.2%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous year. Recreational sports participation is defined as engaging in regular physical activity at least once a week for 30 minutes or more. The participation rate among people in their 30s was the highest among all age groups, rising 7.8 percentage points from the previous survey to 65.3%.

Following the government's lifting of social distancing measures, which were part of COVID-19 prevention guidelines, the use of private sports facilities and swimming pools surged simultaneously. More people enjoyed exercising at fitness centers, commonly known as gyms, and swimming pools. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism analyzed that "although the participation rate in recreational sports has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, it is showing signs of recovery."

However, sports participation among teenagers, who showed the lowest recreational sports participation rate among all age groups, emerged as a challenge. The participation rate for teenagers was 52.6%, below the average. The Ministry plans to increase sports participation among teenagers by dispatching professional instructors during regular school classes and after-school hours.