A new report out of South Korea is shining a light on the daily reality for many of the country’s pets—and how #petownership is shifting, from spending habits to time apart.
The Numbers on Alone Time (and Pet Ownership)
The 2025 Korea Pet Report, published by the KB Financial Research Institute, draws on a survey of 2,000 South Korean #petowners between 20 and 69 years old. One of the most striking takeaways: around 80% of these owners leave their pets home alone at least once a day. On average, those pets spend 5 hours and 54 minutes by themselves—nearly a full workday’s worth of solitude.
As of late 2024, pet ownership in South Korea is also on a slow but steady climb. Close to 30% of South Koreans (about 15.46 million people) own at least one pet, spread across 5.91 million households. That’s a small 1.1% increase from the year before, but it adds up: dog-owning households hit 4.55 million (up 40,000 from 2023), while cat-owning households reached 1.37 million (up 20,000).
Pet Spending Is Up—Way Up
South Korean pet owners are also opening their wallets wider for their furry friends. The average household spends ₩194,000 ($143/€123.34) per month on pets—and that doesn’t include vet bills. That’s a 26% jump from the ₩154,000 ($110.20/€95.05) they spent at the end of 2023.
Where does that money go? Food is the biggest expense, making up 35.1% of monthly budgets. Snacks and supplements follow, at 22.5%—showing owners are prioritizing both mealtime and extra care.
Vet costs are another heavy hitter. Seven in 10 (70.2%) pet households said they’d paid a vet bill in the last two years, with the average cost hitting ₩1.02 million ($751/€648.73). That’s nearly double the ₩577,000 ($425/€366.54) from 2023—a huge jump that’s hard to ignore.
Oddly enough, though, only 12.8% of owners have #petinsurance. Many cite a key barrier: there’s no standard pricing for vet services. Without clear costs, it’s hard for owners to justify adding another monthly expense.
Over in the U.S.: Pets Are Changing Travel Plans
While South Koreans grapple with leaving pets alone, American pet owners are facing a different challenge: travel. A national survey from pet-sitting platform TrustedHousesitters (which polled 5,000 U.S. pet owners) found that 56% of them travel less now that they have a pet.
The guilt and worry run deep, too. Sixty-one percent said they care more about their pets’ well-being than their own enjoyment while on vacation. Almost half (49%) feel separation anxiety when they’re away from their pets.
For many, it’s the little things that stop them: 52% said their pets’ sad faces when they’re packing make them too guilty to leave. Thirty-three percent even admit they spend a good chunk of their vacation glued to their phones—checking in on their pets or video-calling their sitters to make sure all’s well.
And 54%? They say their travel plans get thrown off by one big fear: that their pet thinks they’ve been abandoned.
At the end of the day, whether it’s South Koreans juggling work and alone time for pets or Americans skipping trips to avoid guilt, one thing’s clear: pets are family—and that changes everything, from daily routines to big spending decisions.
Source: GlobalPETS