Episode 50
Raising the barre: Why ballet classes are the latest obsession among Korean adults
This article is by Lee Jian. and read by an artificial voice. At 34 years old, Song Ji-hee is a ballerina — something she once thought she could never become. These days, she pulls on a leotard and tights, ties the ribbons on her toe shoes and heads t...
Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea · LEE JIAN.
April 2, 202610m 1s
Show Notes
This article is by Lee Jian. and read by an artificial voice.
At 34 years old, Song Ji-hee is a ballerina — something she once thought she could never become.
These days, she pulls on a leotard and tights, ties the ribbons on her toe shoes and heads to the studio for ballet lessons alongside fellow adult amateurs.
"I had friends who majored in ballet from a young age. Back then, teachers would select only the most promising children for separate training, so even as a child I felt that there were certain qualifications you had to meet to do ballet," she told the Korea JoongAng Daily via email.
In college, Song discovered that her best friend had begun taking ballet classes as a hobby. But what ultimately pushed her to start was her fascination with what she calls "athletic art."
"Whenever I imagined ballet, I thought of that light, graceful, beautiful image — and that made me want to learn it even more."
Song is one of a growing number of adults in Korea taking up ballet later in life, reshaping perceptions of the art form as something reserved only for the young or professionally trained. Its surge in popularity — particularly visible on social media — has spilled into fashion trends and brand collaborations, cementing ballet as the latest lifestyle obsession. Whether this boom is translating into larger theater audiences for full-length ballet performances, however, remains an open question.
Among the influx of social media posts — 456,000 are hashtagged "hobby ballet" in Korean. Ballet Mate Festival, an annual gala for adult amateur ballerinas and ballerinos, has also seen its participant numbers rise steadily from 268 in 2023 to 321 in 2024. Last year, it recorded an all-time high of 390 participants, since the program was founded in 2017.
Those in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than half of participants, followed by those in their 40s and 50s, at around 39 percent.
Jeon Joon-young of the Performance Planning Team at Wise Ballet Company, the festival's organizer, said that when the first Ballet Mate Festival launched, the words "hobby" and "ballet" were "hardly considered compatible."
"It was difficult to find people who practiced ballet as a hobby because ballet was regarded as the exclusive domain of professionals, and for the general public, it was something to be watched only as spectators," he stated via email.
"At the time, Kim Gil-yong, current director of Wise Ballet Company, anticipated that Korea would eventually follow Europe, the United States and Japan, where hobby ballet was already steadily growing. With the vision of pioneering a new market and bringing aspiring amateur dancers to the forefront, he founded the Ballet Mate Festival under the slogan 'A Festival for Hobby Ballet Dancers' — the first of its kind in Korea."
His prediction appears to have been accurate. Today, hobby ballet classes are easy to find across the country, with even celebrities publicly embracing the art form.
"I can't really say I'm doing ballet. It feels more like going to a ballet studio to stretch. It's basically a hobby," K-pop star-turned-actor Suzy said in a YouTube interview in December last year. "Someone recommended it to me as a form of exercise, and I found it fun. The clothes are pretty and suit me well. I enjoyed it more than regular fitness workouts, and because there's music, it feels relaxing."
For some, cost is also part of the appeal. Office worker Noh Yoon-seo, 28, said ballet classes can be more affordable than comparable yoga or Pilates sessions.
"My ballet class costs about three-quarters of what I used to pay for Pilates," she said. She has been taking hobby ballet lessons since October last year.
For Song, however, the appeal runs deeper than trend or convenience.
"The more I learn ballet, the more I realize this isn't just exercise — it's art," she said. "I understand why ballet isn't in the Olympics. It's an artistic act: creating the most beautiful lines with your body in harmony with music, alig...
At 34 years old, Song Ji-hee is a ballerina — something she once thought she could never become.
These days, she pulls on a leotard and tights, ties the ribbons on her toe shoes and heads to the studio for ballet lessons alongside fellow adult amateurs.
"I had friends who majored in ballet from a young age. Back then, teachers would select only the most promising children for separate training, so even as a child I felt that there were certain qualifications you had to meet to do ballet," she told the Korea JoongAng Daily via email.
In college, Song discovered that her best friend had begun taking ballet classes as a hobby. But what ultimately pushed her to start was her fascination with what she calls "athletic art."
"Whenever I imagined ballet, I thought of that light, graceful, beautiful image — and that made me want to learn it even more."
Song is one of a growing number of adults in Korea taking up ballet later in life, reshaping perceptions of the art form as something reserved only for the young or professionally trained. Its surge in popularity — particularly visible on social media — has spilled into fashion trends and brand collaborations, cementing ballet as the latest lifestyle obsession. Whether this boom is translating into larger theater audiences for full-length ballet performances, however, remains an open question.
Among the influx of social media posts — 456,000 are hashtagged "hobby ballet" in Korean. Ballet Mate Festival, an annual gala for adult amateur ballerinas and ballerinos, has also seen its participant numbers rise steadily from 268 in 2023 to 321 in 2024. Last year, it recorded an all-time high of 390 participants, since the program was founded in 2017.
Those in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than half of participants, followed by those in their 40s and 50s, at around 39 percent.
Jeon Joon-young of the Performance Planning Team at Wise Ballet Company, the festival's organizer, said that when the first Ballet Mate Festival launched, the words "hobby" and "ballet" were "hardly considered compatible."
"It was difficult to find people who practiced ballet as a hobby because ballet was regarded as the exclusive domain of professionals, and for the general public, it was something to be watched only as spectators," he stated via email.
"At the time, Kim Gil-yong, current director of Wise Ballet Company, anticipated that Korea would eventually follow Europe, the United States and Japan, where hobby ballet was already steadily growing. With the vision of pioneering a new market and bringing aspiring amateur dancers to the forefront, he founded the Ballet Mate Festival under the slogan 'A Festival for Hobby Ballet Dancers' — the first of its kind in Korea."
His prediction appears to have been accurate. Today, hobby ballet classes are easy to find across the country, with even celebrities publicly embracing the art form.
"I can't really say I'm doing ballet. It feels more like going to a ballet studio to stretch. It's basically a hobby," K-pop star-turned-actor Suzy said in a YouTube interview in December last year. "Someone recommended it to me as a form of exercise, and I found it fun. The clothes are pretty and suit me well. I enjoyed it more than regular fitness workouts, and because there's music, it feels relaxing."
For some, cost is also part of the appeal. Office worker Noh Yoon-seo, 28, said ballet classes can be more affordable than comparable yoga or Pilates sessions.
"My ballet class costs about three-quarters of what I used to pay for Pilates," she said. She has been taking hobby ballet lessons since October last year.
For Song, however, the appeal runs deeper than trend or convenience.
"The more I learn ballet, the more I realize this isn't just exercise — it's art," she said. "I understand why ballet isn't in the Olympics. It's an artistic act: creating the most beautiful lines with your body in harmony with music, alig...