By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Not long ago, a normal night of partying in Korea included a tour of several bars, clubs and singing rooms, lasting into the early morning. But these days, people have become more frugal amid the ongoing economic slump, cutting their outings with friends and colleagues short, and heading home early.

According to Shinhan Card Wednesday, its cardholders spent 238.5 billion won on bars, karaoke and other types of entertainment establishments during the January to March period, down 17.2 percent from a year earlier. The drop was substantially larger than a 0.6 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2008 from the same quarter of the previous year.

The later it was at night, the steeper spending reduction was. Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., entertainment-related expenditures fell only 0.1 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year ago. But the spending fell 19.7 percent from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., compared to the previous year.

In contrast, consumers spent more at restaurants and other eateries at night, indicating that more salaried workers and self-employed people preferred non-alcohol establishments for brief outings and headed home early.

Card spending at restaurants increased 3.6 percent to 1.05 trillion won in the first three months of 2009 from 1.01 trillion won a year earlier.

``When the economy was good, Koreans used to hang out with their friends and colleagues until late at night, moving from one drinking joint to another. But things have changed since late last year when the nation was hit hard by the global credit crunch and the economic contraction,'' a Shinhan Card executive said.

He said with deteriorating business conditions, people tend to first slash entertainment expenses to cope with slower income growth amid the tight job market and depressed asset market. ``Instead, they made more trips to eateries after work so that they spend less money and go home early.''

The daily credit card spending stood at 1.24 trillion won in the first three months of the year, up 2.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Bank of Korea. But compared with the previous quarter, the expenditure dropped 2.5 percent.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr