80% 넘은 문화예술 관람률…소득별 격차는 여전<br /><br />More and more South Koreans are spending time on cultural and arts programs.<br />Closer look reveals the frequency of attending such events is still closely linked to household income.<br />Kim Mok-yeon has the full story.<br /><br />The number of Koreans attending cultural and arts events has risen dramatically in recent years with the figure surpassing 80 percent of the population for the first time last year.<br />According to a survey released by the Culture Ministry on Monday, the rate of public attendance at such events peaked at a high of 82 percent over the one-year period from August 2017 to July 2018, rising more than 3 percentage points on-year. <br />The frequency of visits to cultural and arts events also increased to an average of 5.6 times a year from 5.3 times in 2006.<br />Movies had the highest attendance rate with 76 percent. Next were music and art performances with 21 percent, followed by art exhibitions.<br />By age, people in their 20s had the highest attendance rate, followed by those in their teens and 30s.<br />When it comes to income, the ratio between household income and attendance of cultural events remained proportional.<br />Households with a monthly income higher than 4,500 U.S. dollars had attendance rates higher than 90 percent, while the figure dropped to 43 percent for those who earn less than 890 dollars a month. <br />The ministry said that it plans to create more opportunities for everyone to enjoy cultural events by increasing cultural subsidies for low-income households and by creating more social infrastructure in the sector.<br />The survey was conducted on more than 10 thousand people aged above 15 years old nationwide from October to November last year.<br />Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.
