It's Children's Day in Korea,... a special day of fun and excitement for kids of all ages.<br />With lots of Koreans working long hours, it's also an opportunity for the entire family to spend some quality time together.<br />Studies show that children who have more leisure time with their mother and father are generally happier and healthier.<br />Lee Ji-won reports. <br />The national holiday of Children's Day in Korea encourages family time and making kids happy. But other than such special days, are kids spending enough time with their parents? <br /><br /><br />"I help mom do her chores during the day and for about three to four hours before going to bed."<br /><br /><br />"I spend about an average of two to three hours with my mom... but my father comes home late so I don't get to spend much time with him."<br /><br />According to a research by the Korea Clinical Game Play Society and Association on over 500 elementary students nationwide, 34-percent of children say they spend pratically no time with their parents, while 27-percent said they spend less than an hour everyday with their parents. <br />Surprisingly, only 38-percent said it's not enough time, 31-percent said it's okay, and 30-percent said it's enough.<br /><br />Experts say kids must spend time with their parents if they're to develop their own charcteristics and acknowledge responsibilities in a social group. Spending time together, experts say, teaches children how to interact and cooperate with other people... but many Korean kids are not having that experience.<br /><br /><br />"Korea's family culture is too focused on academics and education. If a child is in his or her senior year, the whole family focuses on sending the child to a university... and that is the only topic brought up at dinner. And like a workplace, the parents only ask if they studied or did their homework,... checking upon their achievements. And naturally, this may lead to children avoiding conversation or spending time with their parents."<br /><br />The expert said overzealous parents focus too much on education at th<br />
