National Cultural and Artistic Attendance Still Far Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Direct Attendance Rate 58.6%... 81.8% in 2019
Average Monthly Leisure Spending 201,000 Won

The rate of direct attendance at cultural and artistic events by the people of our country has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. According to the results of the "National Cultural and Artistic Activities, National Leisure Activities, and Workers' Vacation Survey" announced on the 26th by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, this year's direct attendance rate was 58.6%. This represents an increase of only 0.5 percentage points from the previous year (58.1%). It did not even reach 60.5% the following year, let alone the pre-pandemic level of 81.8% in 2019.

On the 44th anniversary of the December 12 military coup, the film "Spring in Seoul," which is based on the December 12 military coup, is being screened at a movie theater in Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The average number of direct attendances at cultural and artistic events, calculated only among attendees, was 4.3 times, an increase of 0.6 times compared to last year. In 2019, it was 7.7 times, and 5.1 times the following year. The patterns of participation rates in cultural and artistic events and experiences in cultural and artistic education were similar. The former was 4.8%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. In 2019, it was 10.4%. The latter was 8.5%, up 3.9 percentage points from the previous year. In 2019, it was 9.1%.

The average number of leisure activities per person, which had decreased during the COVID-19 period, increased by 1.0 to 16.1 activities compared to 15.1 activities the previous year. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained, "This is evidence that the diversity of leisure activities is recovering," adding, "It is also encouraging that the number of leisure activities participated in at least once increased across all age groups." The proportion of respondents who expressed satisfaction with their overall leisure life was 60.7%, an increase of 4.1 percentage points from the previous year, marking the highest level since 2012.

Leisure expenditure was recorded at an average of 201,000 KRW per month, an increase of 25,000 KRW from the previous year. The Ministry official estimated, "This is the result of an increase in leisure activities with high expenditure, such as tourism activities, combined with external factors like consumer price inflation."

Amid the heatwave and high inflation, more people are enjoying "molcance," a shopping mall vacation. On the afternoon of the 2nd, citizens visiting The Hyundai in Yeouido, Seoul, were shopping and enjoying their vacation in the cool indoor environment. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Due to the full lifting of social distancing measures in April last year, the rate of family-accompanied leisure activities rose from 33.5% to 34.0%. The rate of leisure activities with friends also increased from 12.4% to 13.2%. On the other hand, rest activities decreased by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Unlike other surveys, the annual leave utilization rate based on last year was 76.2%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. The proportion of leave used for rest purposes decreased from 30.9% to 29.6%, while that for travel purposes rose from 29.4% to 31.1%.

Yoo Byung-chae, Director of the Cultural Arts Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "We were able to confirm that the cultural and leisure activities of the people, which were hit hard by COVID-19, are recovering positively in both quantity and quality," adding, "Next year, we will steadily promote policies to expand the cultural foundation that improves the quality of life of the people so that the recovery trend accelerates."

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