How Koreans Spend Their 24 Hours Per Day

The average Korean works eight hours a day, has five hours of leisure time, and spends the remaining 11 hours on basic life tasks, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Korea. The report on how Koreans spend their 24 hours a day is published in every five years.

In 2009, Korean adults aged 20 or older spent an average of 10 hours and 53 minutes per day on eating, sleeping and bathing, compared to 10 hours and 34 minutes in 2004.

The average amount of time spent on personal grooming and basic health care tasks increased by 10 minutes from 2004 to 1 hour and 18 minutes a day last year, and average daily sleeping time increased by 2 minutes to 7 hours and 48 minutes.

Average working time declined by 9 minutes to 7 hours and 56 minutes over the same period, but spare time also fell by 11 minutes to 5 hours 11 minutes.

Changes were also noted in the way people spend leisure time, with a transition towards more active pastimes. On weekdays, Koreans  watched TV for an average of 1 hour and 49 minutes per day last year, down 17 minutes from 2004, and used computers to play games or surf the Net for 25 minutes, some 3 minutes less than five years ago. In contrast, time spent on sports or recreational activities rose by 2 minutes to 25 minutes.

The shift was even more apparent on weekends. On an average weekend from Saturday to Sunday, time spent watching TV decreased by 37 minutes to 5 hours and 15 minutes, and using computers by 5 minutes to 1 hour and 18 minutes, while time spent on sports and leisure activities climbed by 19 minutes to 1 hour and 14 minutes.

Men spent more time on household chores, but still much less than women did. The average Korean man allowed only 34 minutes per day for domestic tasks last year, compared to 3 hours and 31 minutes for women. In other words, women spent 6.2 times more time than men on chores.

Among women, those with preschool-age children did the most housework -- an average 8 hours and 23 minutes per day, some 3 hours 51 minutes more than their counterparts without such children.