Seoul, South Korea – Despite the rising cost of living, South Koreans are finding more time to relax. A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute revealed that the average South Korean now enjoys 3.7 hours of leisure time on weekdays and 5.7 hours on weekends, up from the previous year.   

However, the survey also showed that spending on leisure activities has decreased. The average monthly expenditure on leisure was 187,000 won ($140), down 14,000 won from the previous year. This decline is attributed to the rising cost of living and a shift towards online, non-face-to-face leisure activities such as watching videos and browsing the internet.   

The survey found that South Koreans are increasingly engaging in solitary leisure activities, with 54.9% of respondents saying they prefer to relax alone. Additionally, the number of leisure activities people participated in increased slightly, with an average of 16.4 activities per person per year. Notably, the elderly population showed a significant increase in leisure activities.   

Despite the decrease in spending, overall satisfaction with leisure life has reached a new high of 61.6%, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous year. This is the highest level since 2016.

A separate survey on cultural and arts activities revealed that 63% of South Koreans attended cultural events in person, a 4.4 percentage point increase from the previous year. Movies remained the most popular cultural activity, followed by popular music and musicals.

The survey on employee vacations also showed positive trends. The rate of annual leave usage increased to 77.7%, and more employees used their vacation time for travel and leisure.

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