Koreans spend less time reading than any other group surveyed in a study by the non-profit media research group NOP World. They spend a weekly total 3.1 hours reading books, newspapers, or magazines. That is the least out amount of time out of the 30 countries surveyed, and it is not even half of the global average of 6.5 hours. Those come in contrast to the results of a study completed a few months ago by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which said that 76.3 percent of Korean adults read a book or more a year, second only to Sweden (82 percent) and far better off when compared to Europe and the United States. Koreans rank high in terms of reading volume, but low when it comes to the quality of the reading. The ministry's figures demonstrate that people are either reading inattentively or are reading with an unbalanced diet that almost completely corresponds to the best-seller list.
In the age of knowledge and information it is more important than ever that people be reading, so it is worrisome that in fact people are reading less. High school students should be reading the most but they are pre-occupied with university entrance preparations because of the increased volume of study material, and university students are buried in books related to finding employment so that they can find work after graduation. Adults are busy making a living yet they, too, do not have much time to turn the pages. One of the factors contributing to the social trend against books is that Korea's "reading culture" is losing out to a "viewing culture" as a result of images and the internet. Books are cultural treasures houses and the cold treatment they are receiving is reaching serious proportions.
Books make those who read them dream. Accomplished people, whatever the field, got where they are by reading books. Korea was once emotionally closer to books than most anywhere, because of a cultural tradition that honored book-reading scholars and because of Korean's intense desire for education. We have to keep that alive if there is to be a future. Instead of being satisfied with the amount and quality of the reading that is done, there needs to be a reading culture campaign that encourages diverse and persistent reading. There is also an urgent need for more public libraries and more books in them.
The Hankyoreh, 1 July 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
Koreas Not Reading Enough |
