Hiking Koreans' favorite pastime

Citizens hike up Mt. Bukhan north of Seoul, Jan. 4. / Korea Times file

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).