Why Is Walking So Popular in Korea?
Visit a riverside park in Korea in the evening and you’ll notice something.
There are runners, cyclists, and people working out.
But everywhere you look, there are also people simply walking.
Couples walk together. Older adults walk with friends. People put on headphones and walk alone. Others bring their dogs.
In Korea, walking doesn’t always feel like a “workout.”
Sometimes, it’s simply what you do when you want to move.
Walking Is Korea’s No. 1 Recreational Exercise
This isn’t just something you notice at a Korean park.
Korea’s 2025 National Sports Participation Survey, conducted among 9,000 people aged 10 and older, found that walking was the most commonly reported recreational physical activity among regular participants.
🇰🇷 Korea by the Numbers
Walking: 40.5%
Bodybuilding: 17.5%
Hiking: 17.1%
Swimming: 7.9%
Running, jogging & marathon: 7.7%
In other words, walking was reported more than five times as often as running in this survey measure.
That doesn’t mean Koreans don’t run.
Running is clearly growing too: its figure increased from 4.8% in 2024 to 7.7% in 2025.
But walking remains in a different league.
Why Does Walking Fit Korean Life So Well?
Part of the answer may be surprisingly simple:
It’s easy to start.
You don’t need a gym membership. You don’t need expensive equipment. You don’t need to track your pace.
And many Korean cities provide places where walking naturally fits into everyday life.
Seoul alone has 11 Hangang parks along the Han River, with riverside paths and green spaces used for walking, cycling, exercise and leisure. Seoul describes the Hangang as a space integrated into citizens’ everyday lives rather than simply a tourist attraction.
Then there are neighborhood parks, streams, mountain trails and walking paths around residential areas.
So for many people, exercise can begin with something as ordinary as:
“Want to go for a walk?”
No training plan required.
But Does “Just Walking” Really Count as Exercise?
Yes — depending on how you do it.
The World Health Organization recommends adults get 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or an equivalent amount of vigorous activity.
And importantly, WHO explicitly recognizes walking as physical activity and emphasizes that some activity is better than none.
That doesn’t mean every slow five-minute stroll automatically provides the same benefit as a brisk 30-minute walk.
Intensity, duration, frequency and your individual health all matter.
But exercise doesn’t have to mean running until you’re exhausted.
Walking counts.
⚠️ Don’t Get This Wrong
This isn’t evidence that Koreans are healthier because they walk.
The Korean survey tells us which activities people report participating in — it does not prove that walking causes Korea’s health outcomes.
And walking shouldn’t completely replace strength, balance or other forms of exercise, especially as we age.
Think of it as a foundation, not the entire house.
Try It the Korean Way
You don’t need the Han River.
Find somewhere near home that makes walking easy — a park, waterfront, neighborhood path or even a familiar loop around your block.
Don’t worry about turning every walk into a performance.
Sometimes you can walk briskly.
Sometimes you can walk with your partner.
Sometimes you can take the dog.
And sometimes the goal can simply be:
Get outside and move.
Bottom Line
Running may dominate fitness feeds, smartwatches and race-day photos.
But in Korea, one of the most popular forms of exercise remains much simpler.
People walk.
Not because it’s a miracle exercise or a secret Korean longevity hack.
Perhaps its greatest strength is that it is something ordinary enough to become part of everyday life.
Sources
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Republic of Korea — 2025 National Sports Participation Survey
Official survey of 9,000 Koreans aged 10 and older. Walking ranked first among reported recreational sports activities at 40.5%.
Seoul Metropolitan Government — Hangang Parks
Official information about Seoul’s 11 riverside parks and their walking, cycling and leisure infrastructure.
World Health Organization — Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour
Guidance on weekly physical activity and the role of walking and other everyday movement.