"Korea with Few Children, Dogs Pampered Luxuriously"…Foreign Media Surprised by Surge in Dog Stroller Sales

US Wall Street Journal Seoul Report
"Sales of Pet Strollers Surpass Those for Infants"

Foreign media have also shown interest in the situation in South Korea, which has one of the world's lowest birth rates, where so-called "gaemocha" (pet strollers) carrying dogs are being sold more than baby strollers.

On the 8th (local time), the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported from Seoul that as South Korea's birth rate declines and the number of pets increases, sales of pet strollers have surpassed those of baby strollers.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. At Seoul Gimpo Airport, a passenger is moving to complete the boarding process with a dog. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

WSJ reported that in South Korea, "while the number of babies is decreasing, the number of registered pet dogs last year more than doubled compared to 2018, reaching an all-time high," and "this has led to a surge in sales of dog strollers." The newspaper also cited data from Gmarket, explaining that last year, for the first time, sales of dog strollers exceeded those of baby strollers, and that the same trend continued in the first half of this year.

Looking at the case of Pet Friends, a pet supplies shopping mall, sales of dog strollers increased fourfold compared to 2019. The premium model price of the luxury dog stroller brand Aibogi reaches $1,100 (about 1.5 million won) per unit. Originally, this company also launched baby strollers, but recently, its Korean division has discontinued that segment and is focusing solely on dog strollers.

WSJ revealed that in many advanced countries such as the United States, many people hold birthday parties for their dogs, decorate dog houses luxuriously, and cherish their pets. What distinguishes South Korea from these countries is that its total fertility rate is 0.72, less than one child per woman. Among young people in South Korea, there are quite a few who prefer raising pets over marriage, childbirth, and parenting, and it has become a common sight to see "gaemocha" being pushed instead of baby strollers in department stores, restaurants, and on the streets.

Meanwhile, a recent survey showed that four out of ten men and women aged 20 to 49 in South Korea have no intention of having children. On the 1st, the Korea Future Population Research Institute, together with the research firm Embrain, announced the results of an in-depth survey on marriage and childbirth perceptions conducted among 2,000 men and women nationwide aged 20 to 49. Among the unmarried men and women (1,164 respondents), 42.6% answered that they have 'no intention of having children.' The proportion of women (52.9%) who do not intend to have children was much higher than that of men (33.1%). By age group, those in their 40s had the highest non-childbearing intention at 63.9%, followed by 35.2% in their 30s and 23.6% in their 20s.

The reasons for not wanting to have children among women included "not feeling the need to have children" (13.9%), "lack of financial means to care for and raise children" (12.7%), and "the enormous cost of children's education" (10.7%). For men, the reasons were "feeling that employment status or job is unstable" (17.9%), "lack of financial means to care for and raise children" (16.0%), and "not feeling the need to have children" (10.5%), in that order.