The daily sports participation rate of disabled people last year was 35.2%, the highest since the statistic was first measured in 2007. Shown is Choi Yong Beom, a national Paralympic canoeist, on Sept. 7, 2024, paddling in the men's 200-m kayak final (sports class KL3) at the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics at the Stade Nautique de Vers-sur-Marne on the outskirts of the French capital. (Korea Paralympic Committee)

By Lee Jihae

The daily sports participation rate by disabled people last year was 35.2%, the highest since the statistic was first measured in 2007.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Paralympic Committee on Jan. 13 said this after releasing the results of a 2024 survey (September 2023 to August 2024) on the daily physical activities of 10,000 people registered as disabled nationwide ranging in age from 10-69.

The rate refers to the percentage of disabled people who do physical activity outside the home at least twice a week and over 30 minutes per session. The figure declined in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but rebounded in 2022 before hitting 35.2% last year, the highest since the survey was launched in 2007 and up from 33.9% in 2023.

A daily sports practitioner refers to someone who exercised outside the home for at least 30 minutes per session at least twice a week for purposes other than rehabilitation over the past year.

The happiness assessment index of "full participants" in daily sports was the highest with an average 3.34 points, followed by that of "incomplete participants" with 3.32. Disabled people who exercised daily had a higher score than those who did not.

On where they mainly worked out, 16.6% of the respondents said sports facilities, 12.3% at home and 49.3% nearby outdoor places such as outside, hiking trails and parks.

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