Pickleball Making Inroads in South Korea as ‘Lifestyle Sport’
Published: Nov 27, 2025
Arthur Jones
Writer
While most of the talk surrounding pickleball’s Asian invasion has been on the sport’s meteoric rise in Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines, other countries are starting to get in on the action, too. Singapore comes to mind, as does Japan and China. Slowly but surely, South Korea is hopping into the unstoppable pickleball train as the sport is seeing tremendous growth over there as well.
The Birth of the Korea Pickleball Association and the Boom That Followed
Soon enough, the Korea Pickleball Association was founded in 2018, and the sport’s popularity grew even more, so much so that competitions were being held from time to time to cater to South Korea’s pickleball enthusiasts. Then, just last year, Wonju in Gangwon Province opened the Oak Valley Pickleball Park, which is to date the largest dedicated pickleball facility in South Korea.
Among pickleball’s prime movers in South Korea is 32-year-old pickleball coach Lee Tae-ho, who first got hooked on pickleball years ago and is now passing on pickleball knowledge to beginners and enthusiasts alike as a coach.
“I’m not a former professional athlete. I used to run my own business but got hooked on pickleball. Now I teach it to others. Its accessibility is its charm,” said Tae-ho.
Sung Moon-hee, who is already 48 years old, concurs, telling Chosun Daily that pickleball “looked fun” and is “easy to learn” and “incredibly enjoyable.”
Bridget Martin, an American living in South Korea, told Chosun Daily she immediately searched for pickleball online when she got to the East Asian power. Now, she believes that while there aren’t too many elite pickleball pros in the country just yet, the talent level of the average enthusiast in South Korea “is no less than that of Americans.”
That’s certainly high praise from Martin, whose country of origin is the birthplace of pickleball, and it’s further proof of all the momentum the sport is picking up in South Korea. And the best part is that pickleball appears to be headed for even more growth. Or, as the saying goes, the best might be yet to come.
