40% of Korean adults didn't read a book last year

The reading rate among Korean adults is at an all-time low. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Nearly 40 percent of Korean adults did not read a book in the past year, government data revealed Monday.

According to a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism survey, 59.9 percent of adults said they had read at least one book in the past year, a 5.4 percent fall from the previous year.

This is the lowest figure since the government started collecting such data in 1994.

Also, a growing number of people think it is unnecessary to read books. Only 59 percent said they did not read as much as they should have, compared with 74.5 percent in 2011.

Meanwhile, 91.7 percent of underage students said they read at least one book in the past year other than textbooks, magazines and comic books.

Asked what makes it difficult to read books, adults and underage students said the main reason was work (study).