Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
Hiking Koreans' favorite pastime
Citizens hike up Mt. Bukhan north of Seoul, Jan. 4. / Korea Times file
By Kim Bo-eun
Koreans’ favorite activity is hiking and their most beloved pets are dogs, according to Gallup Korea.
In Gallup’s survey of 1,700 Koreans aged 13 and above last October, 14 percent said hiking was their favorite pastime, followed by listening to music (6 percent), sports/working out (5 percent) and playing games (5 percent).
Based on age groups, those 40 and above liked hiking but younger males preferred games. Their female counterparts favored listening to music.
Soccer was the most popular sport (18 percent), followed by hiking (13 percent), baseball (10 percent) and swimming (8 percent).
As for pets, Koreans by far like dogs best (64 percent), followed by cats (9 percent), birds, rabbits and hamsters (all 1 percent).
Of breeds, poodles are the most favored (14 percent), followed by Jindo (13 percent), Maltese (12 percent) and shih tzu (10 percent).