An auction for Korean-bred racing horses was aired live on the Korea Mainland Horse Breeders Association’s YouTube channel. (image: Korea Racing Authority)
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — A Korean-bred racing horse has been put up for auction through YouTube live broadcasting for the very first time.
A landscape changed by the coronavirus outbreak, YouTube live broadcasting is being spotlighted as a new platform for ‘untact’ methods of exchanging animals.
An auction for Korean-bred racing horses, held at the auction house at Korea Racing Authority (KRA)’s Jangsu Stud Farm in North Jeolla Province, was aired live on the Korea Mainland Horse Breeders Association’s YouTube channel.
The auction commenced at a designated chatroom on KakaoTalk, inviting members based on prior registrations. A total of 29 people participated in the auction, up from 18 people at the previous event, the KRA said.
“There were more buyers this time most likely because they didn’t have to come in person,” the state-run authority added.
“A ‘breeze-up’ video of horses sprinting 200 meters uploaded before the auction may also have attracted more buyers.”
At the auction, 23 out of 51 horses put up for auction were sold, bidding successfully at a rate of 45 percent. The highest bid was 69 million won (US$55,800), and the average bidding price was 32.9 million won.
This year’s first offline horse auction, originally scheduled to be held on March 3 in Jeju, was postponed to May 12 due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
“The dates for the offline auction have been put back in accordance with the government’s social distancing policy,” the KRA said. “So we decided to go for an online auction to help the breeders.”
Meanwhile, more than 60 people participated in a cow auction at the Livestock Cooperative Federation in South Gyeongsang Province on April 14.
Due to social distancing guidelines, however, breeders and Federation staff were absent. Instead, they used YouTube live broadcasting to monitor the auctioneering process.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
