Sit in a café in Seoul’s Yeonnam-dong and within 30 minutes you’re guaranteed to see this: a stroller rolls past. Peer inside and it’s not a baby sitting there — it’s a dog. Not one, but several.
It’s the question first-time visitors to Korea ask most often: “Why do people push dogs around in strollers?” The answer isn’t a matter of cultural taste. It’s in the numbers.
The short answer
- 29.2% of Korean households live with a pet — the highest figure ever, per the 2025 government survey.
- Of those, 80.5% keep a dog — and most of those dogs are small breeds suited to apartment living.
- Raccoon and meerkat cafés have been illegal since December 2023. They just linger in search results.
How Many Koreans Actually Keep Pets?
In the 2025 Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs survey, the share of pet-owning households came in at 29.2% — roughly three in ten. What makes this number matter isn’t the value itself but its source. This survey is the first official national statistic in the pet field. Before it, Korea’s pet figures varied from one research outfit to the next, and the numbers the media quoted changed every time.
Set those last two cards side by side and you can see the shift happening in Korea right now: dogs are down, cats are up. As single-person and dual-income households multiply, the weight is tilting away from an animal that needs walking twice a day toward one you can leave on its own.
The regional concentration is striking too. The capital region alone (Seoul·Gyeonggi·Incheon) holds 3.05 million pet-owning households — 51.7% of the national total. Spotting dogs constantly while walking around Seoul is no illusion.
Average monthly upkeep runs ₩121,000. That’s not just food — it includes grooming, vet bills, treats, and, as we’ll get to, the stroller.
Which Animals, and Which Breeds?
🐾 Share of pet-owning households by animal type (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 2025)
| Animal | Share | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | 80.5% | avg. 1.11 per household |
| Cats | 14.4% | avg. 1.27 per household |
| Fish | 4.1% | counted per tank |
| Hamsters & rodents | 1.0% | incl. other small mammals |
| Birds | 0.7% | parrots, Java sparrows, etc. |
A dog share of 80% is high even by global standards. But the more interesting question is: which dogs?
For cats, Korean Shorthair (44.7%) is followed by Russian Blue (12.8%) and Persian (9.6%). The combination — all three top dog breeds small, and the No. 1 cat essentially a street cat — lays bare Korea’s housing forms and adoption routes. Houses with yards are rare, and households with room for a large dog are rarer still.
Good to know for travelers
This is why you'll barely see a large dog in Seoul. Conversely, if you want to see native Korean breeds like the Jindo or Pungsan, you'll have to leave the city center for the provinces or a specialist kennel. The Jindo is designated Natural Monument No. 53, and taking one out of Jindo-gun requires a separate procedure.
Do People Keep Unusual Animals Too?
They do. But the share is smaller than you’d think, and the law changed dramatically starting in 2025.
By the Animal Welfare Public Awareness Survey, birds sit at about 2.9%, reptiles 1.4%, and other mammals 0.3%. The category Koreans call exotic pets includes parrots (cockatiels, lovebirds), lizards like geckos and bearded dragons, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, ferrets, and guinea pigs. Seoul even has several exotic-animal clinics that treat only these species.
December 2025: the 'whitelist' system began
The Ministry of Environment rolled out a whitelist system that limits the wild animals individuals may keep or trade to roughly 900 approved species. The list breaks down as 9 mammal species, 18 bird species, 664 reptile species, and 209 amphibian species. Species not on the list can no longer be brought in. Animals already being kept are designed to continue after registration.
The direction is clear. Exotic pets grew fast in Korea over the past decade, and the country has now entered the phase of narrowing that door.
The change that hits travelers more directly is on the café side. Since December 14, 2023, displaying wild animals at facilities not registered as zoos has been banned. The raccoon cafés, meerkat cafés, and fennec fox cafés that once crowded Hongdae and Gangnam closed under this rule.
Why Put a Dog in a Stroller?
Now back to the opening question. In Korea, a pet stroller is called a dog stroller — a compound of “dog” and “stroller.”
In 2023, at a major Korean online mall, dog-stroller sales overtook baby-stroller sales for the first time, by roughly 57 to 43. The stat flooded the news that year not because dogs are cute, but because Korea’s total fertility rate that same year was 0.72.
The real reasons people use dog strollers
It's not purely sentimental. ① The top breeds are 3–5 kg small dogs, so they fit in a stroller ② it eases joint strain on aging dogs ③ being inside a carrier or stroller allows subway and bus boarding and entry to some shops. That third one is decisive. A dog stroller is an expression of affection and a pass at the same time.
Perceptions have shifted along with it. Even among households that do not keep pets, 68.2% answered that “pets are family members” — up sharply from 50.6% in 2018. In Korea, pets are no longer a niche taste but the default backdrop.
There’s friction too, though. Asked whether rules like leashes and ID tags are properly followed, 86.9% of pet owners said “yes,” but only 39.9% of non-owners agreed. That 47-point gap is what fuels today’s pet etiquette debates in Korea.
What You Can See Yourself in Seoul as a Traveler
Tips for visiting animal cafés
- Cat cafés — At most places, ordering one drink doubles as the entry fee. Common rules: sanitize your hands, don't pick the cats up, and don't wake a sleeping cat.
- Dog cafés — Guests who bring their own dog mix with guests who come to see the dogs. It's safer to ask which kind you are before entering.
- Wild-animal cafés — Even if a sign remains, touching and feeding are prohibited. If a place encourages it, that alone is a violation.
- Pet-friendly cafés — Clustered in Seoul's Yeonnam-dong, Seongsu-dong, and Hannam-dong. Entry is generally open even if you don't bring a dog.
If you plan to enter Korea with a pet, there’s one more step. Quarantine paperwork is required, and even after entry most subways, buses, and restaurants only allow small animals inside a carrier. It’s true that Korea looks lenient toward pets — but that leniency rests on the condition of being “small, in a bag, and quiet.”
Sources
- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, "2025 Pet Ownership Survey" — the first survey with official national statistic status, Oct 31–Dec 12, 2025, in-person interviews with 3,000 households across 17 cities and provinces (margin of error ±1.79%p)
- KB Financial Group Management Research Institute, "2025 Korea Pet Report" — household, headcount, and breed distribution as of end-2024
- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, "Public Awareness Survey on Animal Welfare" — ownership shares for birds, reptiles, etc., and the pet-etiquette perception gap
- Ministry of Environment, Wildlife Act revision — ban on displaying wild animals (effective Dec 14, 2023), whitelist system (effective Dec 2025)
- Dog-stroller sales share based on 2023 Korean online mall sales data