This file photo shows a person playing online games at an internet cafe in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — About six out of 10 South Korean parents enjoy playing video games with their children, a survey showed Wednesday.
According to the survey conducted last year by the Korea Creative Content Agency, 59.3 percent of the 1,028 respondents with school-age children said they play video games with their children sometimes (43.4 percent), frequently (14 percent), and very often (1.9 percent).
In contrast, the share of the respondents who said ‘almost not at all’ stood at 23.2 percent, and the share of those who said ‘never’ stood at 17.5 percent.
Among parents in their 20s, 80.2 percent said they enjoy playing video games with their children, the highest among all age groups, followed by those in their 30s at 73.3 percent, 40s at 61.8 percent, and 50s at 43.4 percent.
In a similar 2017 survey, only 43.9 percent of parents replied that they played video games with their children.
This ratio has been on an upward trend, rising to 46 percent in 2018 and 49 percent in 2019. During the pandemic period, the ratio jumped to 56.3 percent in 2020 and 57.5 percent in 2021.
In the 2017 survey, 47.5 percent of fathers and 40.1 percent of mothers said they played video games with their children. This rate rose to 58.9 percent for fathers and 59.7 percent for mothers in the 2022 survey.
Among ordinary citizens aged from 10 to 65 years old, the share of those who had played video games since June 2021 stood at 74.4 percent.
“Millennials who experienced the growth phase of the nation’s online game industry during the period from the late 1990s to early 2000s, became parents and educators.” said Kim Jung-tae, a game professor at Dongyang Mirae University.
“Compared to the previous generation, they have a higher understanding of gaming culture.”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
