Office Workers Read 2.2 Books per Month... Spend 24,000 Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] South Korean office workers read an average of 2.2 books per month and spend 24,000 won on books.

According to Hunet on the 23rd, the survey results of 'Office Worker Reading Trends' conducted through the publishing brand Happy Book Club showed that the most common monthly reading volume among office workers was '1 book' at 43.8%. This was followed by '2-4 books' (36.1%), '0 books' (1.4%), '5-9 books' (5.5%), and '10 or more books' (3.2%).

The survey was conducted on 986 office workers in celebration of 'World Book Day' (April 23), established by UNESCO. The amount office workers spend on books was highest at '10,000 won or more but less than 30,000 won' with 40.4%. Other responses included 'less than 10,000 won' (21.5%), '30,000 won or more but less than 50,000 won' (17.8%), '0 won' (13.0%), '50,000 won or more but less than 100,000 won' (5.3%), and '100,000 won or more' (2.0%).

Regarding how books are obtained (multiple responses allowed), 'purchasing from online bookstores' was the most common at 68.0%. This was followed by 'purchasing from offline bookstores' (34.7%) and 'free borrowing from libraries, etc.' (27.8%). There were also responses for 'purchasing e-books' (15.4%) and 'using subscription services' (4.3%).

As for the types of books mainly read (multiple responses allowed), the 'self-development' category ranked first at 56.4%. This was followed by 'humanities, history, religion, and arts' (45.0%), 'management and economics' (40.2%), 'poetry, novels, and essays' (27.6%), 'health, travel, and other practical books' (16.8%), 'foreign languages' (9.7%), and 'certification' (6.1%).

[Source=Pixabay]

Regarding the new educational format related to books called 'Book Learning (book explanation lectures)', responses were 'have heard of it but don’t know much' (40.0%), 'know it' (32.0%), and 'don’t know' (28.0%). Regarding usage experience, 80.7% answered 'no' and 19.3% answered 'yes'. About World Book Day, 75.1% answered 'don’t know' and 24.9% answered 'know'.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.