One thing new foreign expats to South Korea soon find out about the nation is that here people hate to do things alone. Eating alone during lunch hours at a restaurant, for example, is simply strange.

In a society that highly favors grouping, eating alone during lunch hours looks awkward. So is going to see movies. You seldom see Koreans going to a cinema alone. So is drinking. Unlike in Western society, Koreans don't have a habit of going to a bar and drink ``soju'' alone. Koreans also avoid travelling alone either.

But things are shifting now, according to Chosun Ilbo. It said an increasing number of Koreans now do things alone. For example, in Mapo district in Seoul, there is a noodle shop, Yichimen, which has 23 tables. Eleven of them are for a single-person.

"Every day, we have 250 people eating at my restaurant. About 110 of them come here by themselves," said Lee Myung-jae, the manager.

There are also coffee shops in Seoul's Gangnam area that have seats facing walls. Here, many people don't come to meet their friends. Rather, they come alone and use their notebook computer while sipping a coffee latte.

Chosun Ilbo added there are an increasing number of people who go to movies alone and travel alone.

This change, while normal in Western society that is often characterized for its emphasis on individualism, is pretty unusual in Korea.

In Korean society that attaches a great importance to group activities, eating alone, going to a movie alone could even imply that you don't have friends or you don't belong to any social group, a great disadvantage in Korea. One could be even perceived as a "loser" for that matter.

The new trend, according to the newspaper, is mainly driven by members of young generation who find it comfortable and even efficient to do things alone.

"When I eat with other people, it takes more time and inefficient," said Kim Yu-na, 21, a college student in Seoul. "It's same when you go to a movie with other people. You could get distracted."

Young people looking for job opportunities in the ever-shrinking employment market want to save time, the newspaper said, citing it as one reason for the trend. It didn't mention whether it is also a reflection of greater social change amid Korea's deepening integration into globalization, including Western influence.