The Gap in Community Sports: Utilization of Sports Facilities in South Korea

Anyone can participate in sports, but not everyone has the opportunity to do so. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors causing inequality in sports participation based on the causes of the disparity in sports facility utilization in South Korea. Based on ecosystem theory, factors affecting the use of sports facilities were identified. For the causal relationship analysis of each factor, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed using the SPSS (version 26.0) package (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The characteristics of individual, family, and community levels show the different impacts based on study models with hierarchical structures. The results of this study illustrated that family characteristics did not influence the facilities’ utilization rate. However, individual and community characteristics did influence the sports facilities’ utilization rate. Although these results were derived from the case of South Korea, they are comparable data focusing on country-specific characteristics and community indicators. It is expected that sports participation can be strengthened by bridging the gap in sports facilities’ utilization.