In a nation with the lowest birth rate in the world, the demand for dog strollers is increasing

After pushing a baby carriage toward the park near her home in a suburb of Seoul, Kang Sung-min sat down to rest on a bench. Then an older woman approached her, trying to start a friendly conversation with Kang about mothers.

“I’m not even married yet,” replied Kang, 24.

The frightened old woman stared at the cart and looked at the little passenger: a brown poodle named Coco. She left, pleading for Kang to start a family. “I don’t want to get married,” Kang said. “I’d rather spend money on my dog.”

A global discourse has developed, also in the US, about not having children and the reluctance to have offspring. But the concern may be at its peak in South Korea, which has the lowest birth rate in the developed world, and also another difference that causes a stir: a dizzying increase in dog stroller sales, which in the year Last year surpassed baby stroller sales for the first time, according to Gmarket, one of South Korea’s largest online retailers, and the trend continued in the first half of this year.

They are so common that in January a national broadcasting station broadcast a segment entitled: “Am I the only one bothered by this? A heated discussion about dog strollers.”

In many advanced economies, including the US, older people treat their pets like spoiled children, with lavish birthday parties, doggie mansions, private jets and dog sled rides.

But pet parents are infuriating South Korean officials.

‘National Demographic Emergency’

The country faces a fertility rate of 0.72 – one third of the rate needed to maintain the population. At a youth roundtable meeting last year, Kim Moon-soo, now the country’s labor minister, scolded the youth: “What worries me is that young people don’t like each other,” Kim said. “Instead, they love their dogs. They don’t get married, and they don’t have children.”

Members of a minority leftist party in parliament protested Kim’s remarks at a recent press conference, saying he should consider the harsh working conditions and low wages before blaming pet owners for low birth rates.

In a recent local survey, one in two South Korean women aged 20 to 49 said they had no intention of having children, which they considered unnecessary, citing economic constraints. As pet-friendly spots proliferate across the country, restaurants and cafes are declaring “kid-free zones,” pointing out disruptive behavior.

The government’s appeal to younger generations to choose having children over raising pets comes with a twist: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol himself is married without children—and owns at least ten dogs and cats.

“Sorry, this food is only for dad,” reads one of his Instagram posts, where two Bichon Frize dogs are seen staring at him as he eats a sandwich.

Still, in June, Yun declared a “national demographic emergency” because of South Korea’s low birthrate. He called on government ministries to solve the problem of declining birth rates to avoid an “existential crisis”.

Kim Bora, a 32-year-old freelance web designer, is not considering having children at this time. She finds South Korea too competitive and too expensive to raise children. Instead, she upgraded her dog stroller, which doubles as a car seat, for her Bichon Frize, Salgo, the Korean word for peach. Salgo pampers herself in her stroller with a heating pad in the winter and an ice pad in the summer.

“If I had a child,” notes Kim, “I wouldn’t be able to take care of Salgo the way I do now.”

While the number of babies is dwindling, the population of registered dogs in South Korea jumped to a record last year, and has more than doubled since 2018.

The blossoming of the dog carts

Sales of dog strollers have quadrupled since 2019, according to Yoon Hyun-shin, head of Pet Friends, South Korea’s largest online pet trading platform. Airbuggy is considered the “Mercedes-Benz” of dog strollers. The special model for the fall-winter seasons, “Grey Tweed”, costs about $1,100, and includes Scottish fabric and tires suitable for off-road driving.

The company started as a baby stroller manufacturer, but Airbuggy’s Korean division has focused on dog strollers in recent years. “You can put a dog or a baby in our strollers,” said Park Soon-jae, head of Airbuggy Korea. “But the market here demands pet strollers.”

Strollers with small dogs in them are part of the daily landscape around department stores, restaurants, streets and public areas in South Korea.

They block the walking paths in Seoul Forest Park – which is bigger than New York’s Central Park – and confuse Lee Sung-kyu, 62, director of facilities there. “These strollers should carry babies,” he said.

At first, Lee felt a certain sense of disappointment when his grown daughter wasted her money on a dog stroller that cost about $225.

“The dog doesn’t want to sit in it at all,” he told me and smiled. “He keeps jumping out.”