From Adoption to Funeral: South Korea's Growing Pet Economy Raises Lifetime Costs
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
South Korea’s pet ownership is rising — nearly 6 million pet households and about 15.5 million pet owners, roughly 3 in 10 people. As pets become family members, the “pet economy” (pet-related market) expanded from food and supplies to medical care, insurance, education, travel and funerals. Average adoption fees rose to about 380,000 won, with specialty breeders averaging over 1,000,000 won for prized bloodlines. Monthly care costs have also increased (average about 194,000 won), with food making up more than half. Veterinary bills are a major occasional expense: average recent treatment spending per household reached about 1,027,000 won, and cancer-related care can cost millions. Pet funerals averaged 464,000 won last year, but premium memorial services can exceed 1–2 million won. Many owners fund these costs from regular household budgets; only about 26.6% keep dedicated pet funds and 36.2% hold pet financial products (12.8% have insurance). The market is projected to grow from 9 trillion won (2022) to 22 trillion won by 2032, reflecting changing social views of pets as family and expanding services across the pet life cycle.
