By Kim Tae-jong
Kim Jin-su, a 36-year-old office worker in Seoul, has stopped hanging out with his friends to drink and dine after work. He said the idea of having fun makes him feel guilty after the recent sinking of the ferry Sewol.
"I can't laugh aloud because it feels so bad," he said. "Watching news on TV and thinking of young students who died in the accident saddens me so deeply and I can't simply enjoy myself with my friends."
It seems that Kim is not the only one who feels bad when simply thinking of buying things for themselves or eating at a nice restaurant due to the sense of guilt over the hundreds of victims and their family members.
Recent data show that the tragic accident has affected consumption ever since the ferry capsized on April 16 with 476 people on board.
According to five major credit card firms including KB Kookmin and Shinhan Card, their combined charges were 3.28 trillion won between April 16 to 20, down 7.6 percent from April 9 to 13.
The Korean Film Council also said the number of people watching movies at theaters last weekend stood at 805,889, down 28.9 percent from the previous weekend.
CJ O Shopping also said its sales on the weekend plunged by about 20 percent, compared to a week earlier.
Market insiders believe the tragic accident has made people refrain from purchasing goods, participating in entertainment events or going on trips.
"The ferry disaster has obviously saddened a lot of people and affected their consumption patterns. We believe consumption will remain low for a while," an official from a card firm said.
Major amusement parks had fewer visitors over the last weekend than a week earlier, even though the weather was fine.
Seoul Grand Park had a total of 111,390 visitors on April 19 and 20, 37.4 percent down from the previous weekend, while Lotte World indoor amusement park saw a 10 percent decrease in the number of visitors to 4,500 over the same period.
"As people seemed to be gripped with sorrow over the tragic accident, we had fewer visitors on fine spring days," an official from Seoul Grand Park said.
The number of people using highways dropped by 20 percent on the last weekend with few traffic jams witnessed.
Many companies are also delaying or canceling marketing events and have even requested their executives and employees to refrain from drinking and playing golf, as a gesture to express their condolences.
Although they may suffer a temporary drop in sales, they have no other options but to stay calm.
"A very trivial but careless remark could hurt people's feeling at the moment," an official from a local liquor company Hite Jinro said.
An official from discount store chain E-Mart said they have stopped shouting to attract customers' attention at grocery and food sections.
"The overall mood is so quiet," she said. "No one makes unnecessarily loud noises with everything being low key."
Kim Jin-su, a 36-year-old office worker in Seoul, has stopped hanging out with his friends to drink and dine after work. He said the idea of having fun makes him feel guilty after the recent sinking of the ferry Sewol.
"I can't laugh aloud because it feels so bad," he said. "Watching news on TV and thinking of young students who died in the accident saddens me so deeply and I can't simply enjoy myself with my friends."
It seems that Kim is not the only one who feels bad when simply thinking of buying things for themselves or eating at a nice restaurant due to the sense of guilt over the hundreds of victims and their family members.
Recent data show that the tragic accident has affected consumption ever since the ferry capsized on April 16 with 476 people on board.
According to five major credit card firms including KB Kookmin and Shinhan Card, their combined charges were 3.28 trillion won between April 16 to 20, down 7.6 percent from April 9 to 13.
The Korean Film Council also said the number of people watching movies at theaters last weekend stood at 805,889, down 28.9 percent from the previous weekend.
CJ O Shopping also said its sales on the weekend plunged by about 20 percent, compared to a week earlier.
Market insiders believe the tragic accident has made people refrain from purchasing goods, participating in entertainment events or going on trips.
"The ferry disaster has obviously saddened a lot of people and affected their consumption patterns. We believe consumption will remain low for a while," an official from a card firm said.
Major amusement parks had fewer visitors over the last weekend than a week earlier, even though the weather was fine.
Seoul Grand Park had a total of 111,390 visitors on April 19 and 20, 37.4 percent down from the previous weekend, while Lotte World indoor amusement park saw a 10 percent decrease in the number of visitors to 4,500 over the same period.
"As people seemed to be gripped with sorrow over the tragic accident, we had fewer visitors on fine spring days," an official from Seoul Grand Park said.
The number of people using highways dropped by 20 percent on the last weekend with few traffic jams witnessed.
Many companies are also delaying or canceling marketing events and have even requested their executives and employees to refrain from drinking and playing golf, as a gesture to express their condolences.
Although they may suffer a temporary drop in sales, they have no other options but to stay calm.
"A very trivial but careless remark could hurt people's feeling at the moment," an official from a local liquor company Hite Jinro said.
An official from discount store chain E-Mart said they have stopped shouting to attract customers' attention at grocery and food sections.
"The overall mood is so quiet," she said. "No one makes unnecessarily loud noises with everything being low key."
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