Cover Blackpink’s Rosé and her rescue pup, Hank (Photo: Instagram/@roses_are_rosie)
Blackpink’s Rosé and her rescue pup, Hank (Photo: Instagram/@roses_are_rosie)
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Companions? Family members? Influencers? Here’s how the pet culture in South Korea has evolved over the years
In 2023, the share of households with a pet in South Korea was nearly 30 per cent of households, according to Statista. This was the highest share in the past few years.
This surge represents a significant cultural shift from traditional perspectives, where pets were primarily kept outdoors or for practical purposes. Today, pets are considered integral family members, often called “fur babies” or “furkids”–a reflection of changing family structures in modern Korean society.
Read more: The purr-fect start: Everything you need for your first cat
What began as a gradual shift towards keeping pets for companionship has evolved into a sophisticated ecosystem of pet cafes, luxury pet goods, and celebrity-driven pet fashion brands. This reflects broader changes in South Korea, including shifting family dynamics, increasing disposable income, and the influential role of K-pop celebrities.
The Instagram and TikTok era has transformed pets into social media stars, with some Korean pet influencers amassing millions of followers. For example, Blackpink member Rose’s dog Hank has an Instagram account (@hank_says_hank) with nearly five million followers. Similarly, Blackpink’s Lisa’s fur family of five cats and one dog has a shared Instagram account (@lalala_lfamily) with over three million followers.
Meanwhile, South Korean rapper Jessi’s dog has an Instagram account (@softandchewie) with over 130 thousand followers, and Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon’s dog has an Instagram account (@zero.taeyeon) which boasts over 390 thousand followers.
See also: From wearables to wellness: What’s next in pet care?
Why now more than ever? Several factors have contributed to the current peak in Korean pet culture. For one, the rise of single-person households and declining birth rates have led many Koreans to seek companionship through pets. This demographic change has created a market for premium pet products and services.
Korean celebrities and K-pop idols have played a pivotal role in transforming pet culture, particularly pet fashion and lifestyle products.
In August 2019, Taeyeon collaborated with popular Korean brand SPAO to launch SPAO x Zero, Zero’s own clothing line. The line included everything from cute T-shirts to soft pyjamas decorated with cute illustrations of the grey poodle. A year later, a new SPAO x Zero fall/winter collection featuring items like hairbands and AirPods cases was released. This all contributed to goodwill, as a percentage of the proceeds from the collection were donated to help abandoned pets and animals in need.
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Designer pet clothing brands such as HOWLPOT have gained international recognition for their fashion-forward approach to pet wear. The Seoul-based South Korean design group is dedicated to companion animals and makes beautifully designed toys, apparel, and accessories for furkids. The company believes that the same design value used for human products has to be applied to the products for companion animals too.
Also, the Korean pet industry has evolved to meet sophisticated consumer demands, ranging from luxury pet stores like Kanine Korea in Gangnam, offering high-end shopping experiences exclusively for pets and their owners, to pet cafes like Bau House near Hongdae, where patrons can enjoy a cup of coffee or two while playing with the resident dogs.
In modern Korean pet culture, technology also plays a crucial role. There are pet-specific social media platforms like BlockPet, a blockchain-based social media pet community platform where pet owners get rewarded for uploading content. Pet startup Pet Me Up offers a taxi service for pets, which matches furparents with a professional driver so that they can travel to their destination safely.
Read more: Hong Kong dog food subscription startup Buddy Bites launches in the UK
Smart pet products, including AI-powered toys, automated feeders, self-cleaning litter boxes, pet cameras, cordless sensor water fountains, and GPS trackers are increasingly popular among tech-savvy pet owners.
This transformation of pet culture in Korea serves as a fascinating example of how traditional attitudes can evolve to create new social and economic opportunities. The evolution reflects fundamental changes in how society views companionship, family, and lifestyle. As celebrities continue to influence this space and innovation drives new product categories, Korea’s pet culture will likely continue to set trends globally.
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