80% 넘은 문화예술 관람률…소득별 격차는 여전

More and more South Koreans are spending time on cultural and arts programs.
Closer look reveals the frequency of attending such events is still closely linked to household income.
Kim Mok-yeon has the full story.

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.
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.
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.
Movies had the highest attendance rate with 76 percent. Next were music and art performances with 21 percent, followed by art exhibitions.
By age, people in their 20s had the highest attendance rate, followed by those in their teens and 30s.
When it comes to income, the ratio between household income and attendance of cultural events remained proportional.
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.
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.
The survey was conducted on more than 10 thousand people aged above 15 years old nationwide from October to November last year.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.