Masked people walk across a street near Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul on March 12, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — With the spread of the coronavirus and the introduction of social distancing policies, South Koreans are engaged in less smoking, drinking, and physical activities, while their everyday stress levels have increased.
Last year, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government conducted a survey of 41,983 residents via 46 local community health centers to find out that only 18.8 percent of respondents were smokers, showing a continuous drop in the smoking rate for five consecutive years.
The monthly drinking rate, which includes anyone who has consumed liquor at least once each month, stood at 53.8 percent, down by an unprecedented 5 percentage points since 2019 (58.8 percent).
People engaged in less physical activities as well. Last year, 17.1 percent engaged in physical activities exceeding medium-grade intensity, which was down by 5.2 percentage points since 2019 (22.3 percent).
Another 41.2 percent engaged in walking, down by 3.9 percentage points since 2019 (45.1 percent).
In contrast, everyday stress levels have increased. Stress levels jumped from 26.5 percent in 2019 to 27.5 percent last year.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
