Leisure spending hits record high

By Kang Seung-woo

Chung Ki-baek, a 37-year-old dermatologist, recently purchased a mountain bike worth roughly 4 million won ($3,456) for exercise in his free time.

“I know it is a little bit expensive, but it is okay because I expect riding a bike will help to get rid of my stress,” said Chung, who also plays golf in his leisure time.

Like him, a large number of people have opened their wallets to splurge on leisure activities, as the proportion of money spent on hobbies to the nation’s total consumption marked a record high this year, a central bank official said Thursday.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) reported that Koreans spent 34.2 trillion won on entertainment and cultural activities in the first three quarters of 2010. The number accounts for 8.74 percent of the real consumer spending of households, according to the BOK. The spending on leisure activities managed to remain at 2 percent or so in the 1970’s, but skyrocketed to 7 percent in the early 2000’s and 8 percent in the late 2000s.

The upward tendency snapped last year, as the spending shrank to 8.57 percent, affected by the global financial crisis, but it posted a record high this year.

The central bank attributed the rise to increasing income levels and more leisure time.

“The spending on leisure activities is on an upswing, as household income rises along with people spending more time off work,” said a BOK official.

Compared to advanced economies, Korea still remains in the cellar due to excessively long working hours. The nation’s spending on entertainment and cultural activities to the gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 3.7 percent as of 2007, the second lowest number behind Ireland at 3.1 percent, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

On the other hand, Korea topped the list of annual working hours in the world with 2,316 hours in 2008, followed by Bangladesh, which tallied 2,301 hours.

“It will take a long time to reduce working hours, which conversely will result in increasing leisure time,” a Seoul-based economist said.

“Therefore, people need to learn how to enjoy their spare time more effectively.”

여가활동 비용 최대 기록

국민의 소비생활에서 여가활동이 차지하는 비중이 사상 최대를 기록했다.

16일 한국은행 등에 따르면 올해 들어 3분기까지 가계의 오락.문화 실질 소비액은 34조2천억원으로 집계됐다.

이는 가계의 실질 소비지출에서 8.74%를 차지하는 금액이다.

1970년대 2%대 안팎에 머무르던 오락.문화 소비 비중은 2000년대 초반 7%대, 2000년대 후반 8%대로 높아졌다. 금융위기를 겪고 난 지난해 8.57%로 조금 하락했지만 올해 들어 사상 최고치를 경신했다.

오락.취미.경기용품 판매액은 2005년 3조6천41억원에서 지난해 5조1천373억원으로 42.5% 증가했다.