SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean adults and students both spent less time reading books last year, a survey showed Monday.
The survey on the reading habits of South Koreans conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed that adults read an annual average of 4.5 books over the past year from Sept. 2020 to Aug. 2021, marking a decline of three books from the figure recorded in 2019.
The annual reading rate, or the percentage of those who read more than one book in a year, stood at 47.5 percent last year, down 8.2 percentage points from a year ago.
However, the reading rate for those in their 20s inched up by 0.3 percentage points to 78.1 percent. Compared to other adult groups, those in their 20s marked the highest reading rate and read the largest number of books.
The annual reading rate for elementary, middle and high school students (excluding textbooks and reference books) stood at 91.4 percent, down 0.7 percentage points from a year ago.
The average number of books they read last year marked a decline of 6.6 books compared to the 2019 figure.
As for the reason for not enjoying reading, 26.5 percent of adults said they don’t have enough time due to work, followed by 26.2 percent who said they use other media and content rather than reading books.
Among students, 23.7 percent picked smartphones, TV and Internet games as the biggest stumbling blocks that prevent them from reading.
The bi-annual survey was conducted with the participation of 6,000 adults over 19 years of age and 3,320 elementary, middle and high school students across the country.
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