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South Korea Is A Country That Adores Golf. Here's Why!

A-list Hallyu celebrities like Park Seo-joon, Hyun Bin, and Son Ye-jin are big fans of the sport!

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Kate Paras-Santiago

<p>Is it just us or is every other Korean celebrity posting <strong>golf </strong>content on their Instagram these days? It&#x27;s hard to not notice our favorite <em>oppas</em> and <em>unnie</em><em>s</em> looking stylish on the fairway, so we had to do some digging: Why are Koreans obsessed with the sport? </p><div><br/></div><p>We have to admit—we used to think of golf as a sport our dads play. It&#x27;s not as mainstream and trendy, as, say, tennis or basketball, but we&#x27;ve started to notice that it&#x27;s gaining more and more popularity in other countries. In South Korea particularly, A-list stars like Park Seo-joon, Hyun Bin, and his wife Son Ye-jin are huge fans! #BinJin couple even flew to the States for their honeymoon with sets of golf clubs in tow! </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/02609a70-86a8-4580-ac43-9078ae306a78_280560282_108944385148274_4919648112507768073_n.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Park Seo-joon<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> @bn_sj2013  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>According to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/sports/golf/white-night-golf-south-korea.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, &#x27;South Korea is the third-largest market for golf in the world, behind only the United States and Japan.&#x27; NY Times also reports that the country has a whopping 117 private and public golf courses of 18-holes, that now offer night golfing, due to the sheer demand of tee time from golf fans in the country. Locally, we&#x27;ve heard of or seen South Korean nationals flock to our own Philippine golf courses, perhaps wanting to extend their leisure time to not just green grass but also exotic sand and sea. With the bustling city Seoul being filled with golf fans, and the South Korean capital being limited to just one golf course that is only open to military personnel, fans have even resorted to screen golf, which is basically playing the sport virtually! Talk about a major sport obsession!</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/226bb1f5-21d9-49bb-92e4-4e426bac110c_fullsizephoto1379602.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-a in &#x27;Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha&#x27;<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Hancinema  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>Koreans&#x27; obsession for the sport is evident in the amount of elite professional golfers they have, most especially in the women&#x27;s division. According to the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/golf-korean-women-success-dedication-klpga-sponsorship" target="_blank">Olympics</a>, &#x27;the country has dominated the women&#x27;s game for the past decade with seven-time major winner Inbee Park taking gold at Rio 2016.&#x27; It is remarkable too, that &#x27;there are no less than 17 women winning a total of 34 majors starting with Pak Se-ri&#x27;s victory in the 1998 LGPA Championship.&#x27; It may indeed be an expensive sport, with golf club membership fees, apparel and equipment, and travel as part of the overall expense list, but South Koreans just can&#x27;t get enough of it!</p><div><br/></div><p>And of course, we at Metro.Style have witnessed a lot of remarkable golf scenes in our beloved K-dramas, making its impact undeniable. Who remembers that cute and <em>kilig </em>golf course scene in &#x27;Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha&#x27; with Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-a, or the ubiquitous scene of <em>chaebols </em>talking business at a golf course, <em>a la</em> &#x27;Business Proposal&#x27;? The K-drama world absolutely adores golf, and a lot of celebrities like Park Shin-hye even endorse huge golfing brands in the country, too. Whether you are convinced that you should be heading to the nearest golf driving range to try learning the sport already, or just curious as to which <em>hallyu</em> celebrities swing their clubs on the regular, swipe through the gallery below to find out!</p><div><br/></div><div class="article-content" itemProp="articleBody"><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/4a97e49c-5556-4d1a-80ee-41898be384f4_gallerykoreansgolf.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/4553fc4b-d607-4083-be40-5c73eea11cbb_psj.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/c64d1ce8-6ea6-4e1a-a9d7-d981b9853048_choi wooshik.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/2d3ce7a1-b14c-4849-804d-130b414526ff_binjin @binjindiary.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/bbd1672d-88d1-48db-a703-6ee78e8446e2_v @thv.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/9e327a26-ef7a-4f0d-a715-ec75e0cc53cc_park min-young.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/852a650a-5a26-45f5-a440-a332bff30bad_choi siwon.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/66e581a8-dc8a-4ae6-852f-ceaeb7d1ff35_park shin-hye @ssinz7.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/2294a981-1cec-4f36-8656-ab1531111017_@sooyoungchoi.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/4d609b6d-4a88-43d8-87b9-b92cd050d616_cha jungwon @ch_amii.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/0e447057-5454-435d-b7ab-0414e08460e0_lee seung-gi @leeseunggiofficial.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/93494726-8b00-47cd-b930-8f959e85d6e6_lee da-in @xx__dain.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Park Seo-joon<cite>@bn_sj2013</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Choi Woo-shik<cite>@dntlrdl</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Hyun Bin &amp; Son Ye-jin<cite>@binjindiary</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Kim Taehyung a.k.a BTS&#x27; V<cite>@thv</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Park Min-young<cite>@rachel_mypark</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Choi Siwon<cite>@siwonchoi</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Park Shin-hye<cite>@ssinz7</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Soo Young-choi<cite>@sooyoungchoi</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Cha Jungwon<cite>@ch_amii</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Lee Seung-gi<cite>@leeseunggi.official</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Lee Da-in<cite>@xx__dain</cite></p></div></div></div></div><div><em><br/></em></div><div><em><small>Lead photo via <a href="https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Hometown_Cha-Cha-Cha-picture_1379602.html" target="_blank">Hancinema</a></small>.</em></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/wellness/fitness/why-is-pilates-famous-among-korean-celebrities/30774" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">This Is Why Pilates Is Such A Hit Among Korean Stars</a></div>