South Koreans had more spare time than before, but many spent it alone this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed, with more people taking walks and enjoying mobile content.

According to a report on Koreans’ pastimes and cultural activities by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, they spent about 3.7 hours on leisure activities during the week and 5.6 hours on weekends this year, up 12 minutes from the previous year.

This year, Koreans’ favorite way to spend their spare time was still watching television at 67.7 percent this year, though this represented a drop from 71.4 percent a year earlier.

Their second-favorite pastime was to take a walk or stroll. Taking a walk or stroll, which ranked fourth at 32.1 percent on the list of Koreans’ pastimes in the previous survey, went up to No. 2 at 41.3 percent in this year’s survey.

This year also saw more people enjoying mobile content. The proportion of people enjoying mobile content and videos also increased from 20.8 percent last year to 32.6 percent this year.

The most satisfactory pastime for Koreans was to take a walk or stroll (23.5 percent), up 5.6 percentage points from the previous year. Some 23.1 percent said they were most satisfied when they watched television, followed by when they met friends or dates (20.2 percent), and when they went shopping and ate out. (18.7 percent.)

The survey showed that some 60 percent of the Koreans surveyed spent their spare time alone this year, compared with 54.3 percent last year. They spent less time with their friends and families this year (40 percent), compared with 45.7 percent last year.

When they were alone, they watched television most often (27.5 percent), but also surfed the internet and used social media (14.6 percent) or watched mobile content and videos (10.8 percent).

Restaurants (38 percent) were the most common place where Koreans spent their spare time, followed by empty spaces near their homes (28.8 percent), cafes (25.6 percent) and nearby parks (24.6 percent.)

With government antivirus measures restricting the operation of indoor facilities, there was a drop in the use of theaters from 18.1 percent to 8.7 percent, religious facilities from 8.2 percent to 7.1 percent, and fitness clubs from 7.4 percent to 7 percent.

Koreans spent about 156,000 won ($144) a month on these pastimes, though they thought it was optimal to spend about 203,000 won, according to the report.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)