Yeah, the first kind is more common when you're a beginner hobbyist and are just starting to learn to solder just using a run of the mill soldering iron and soldering wire, whilst the second kind at the very least requires some experience soldering and a steady hand - as even the largest surface mount components are smaller the Through Hold equivalents and generally one doesn't use the largest - or some special equipment (a soldering over and solder paste - which a paste for of solder which, unlike solder wire, spoils with time if unused).

However you can make way smaller circuits with the second kind (even if using the bigger surface mount components, though with the smaller ones the different is insane and some things are only really possible in practice to make with the smaller surface mount components) plus many integrated circuits only come in surface mount versions.

Also the second kind can be wholly and easilly assembled by machines (in fact the really small surface mount components are near impossible for humans to properly place), which is why if you open an electronic device nowadays you'll see it's almost or even entirelly made up of surface mounted components.

Mind you, nowadays even a hobbyist can just design a circuit with surface mount components and have the whole thing assembled by shops which will do small runs (like just 10 units) all of which pretty cheaply of you use one of the Chinese companies that do those things.