Despite 'Golttaenyeo' Popularity, Public Sports Facilities Are Scarce... "Reservation Battles More Intense Than Concerts"

Increasing Trend in Participation Rate of Recreational Sports
Demand Outpaces Local Governments' Efforts

Recently, shows like ‘Golttae-nyeo’ and ‘Choegang Baseball’ have gained popularity, increasing interest in recreational sports. However, public sports facilities are significantly lacking, leading to fierce reservation battles. There are calls for expanding public facilities to meet the demand for recreational sports among the public.

According to Statistics Korea's '2023 National Recreational Sports Survey' on the 4th, the participation rate in recreational sports last year was 62.4%, showing a steady upward trend. The participation rate refers to the percentage of people who regularly engage in recreational sports for at least 30 minutes once a week or more. The rate of using public sports facilities increased by 5.6% from the previous year to 28.3%. The reasons for using public sports facilities were 'close proximity' (38.3%), 'free or low usage fees' (30.9%), and 'well-equipped professional sports facilities' (21.8%), in that order.

Local governments are increasing public sports facilities every year, but the supply cannot keep up with demand. Kim (30), who is active in a company futsal club, said, "Public sports facilities are popular because the rental fees are free, so every team member participates in the reservation battle like concert ticketing every month to secure a practice field. If you are lucky enough to get one, it’s fortunate, but if not, you have no choice but to go to expensive private facilities."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government accepts reservations on a first-come, first-served basis one month in advance through the online reservation site ‘Public Service Reservation System’ for soccer fields, futsal courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, and more. However, the number of public sports facilities is limited, and many close before 6 p.m., making reservations so difficult that they close within less than a minute after opening. Currently, Seoul operates 24 public futsal courts, of which 18 operate past 6 p.m.

Professor Lee Jong-sung of Hanyang University’s Department of Sports Industry said, "After COVID-19, some considered the increased interest in recreational sports a temporary phenomenon, but it appears to be a widespread trend across all generations due to growing health awareness and an aging population. The government should move away from current sports policies based on previous generations’ circumstances and design new policies and demand surveys that reflect these changes."