Coronavirus affect life pattern for Koreans, foreigners

With the snowballing numbers of COVID-19 infections in Korea, more people are staying indoors and staying away from public areas.

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) conducted a survey on changes to daily life due to the coronavirus from Monday to Thursday morning. The online survey involved 204 Koreans and 175 foreigners who visited or are staying in Korea.
 

When asked what changed the most after the coronavirus epidemic, allowing multiple answers, Korean and foreign respondents both responded that the working environment changed the most at 78.29 percent for Koreans and 69.61 percent for foreign nationals. It was followed by increased concerns for sanitization by using masks and hand sanitizers for both groups.

However, what Koreans and foreigners did in their time indoors differed. While 71.08 percent of Koreans answered watching TV as the top activity at home, reading was the main activity for foreign respondents at 81.14 percent. Watching YouTube was second for both groups with 67.65 percent for Koreans and 77.14 percent for foreigners. Also, while spending time with family (64 percent) was high on the list for foreigners, it was in seventh with only 18.63 percent among Koreans.

As for grocery shopping, 84.31 percent of Koreans mainly used online stores compared to 52.57 percent of foreigners. Foreigners preferred local stores the most with 58.86 percent.

Both Korean and foreign respondents chose travelling as the first thing they want to do once the coronavirus spread clams down. Meeting friends and acquaintances followed. However, while foreign respondents picked cultural activities like watching shows and concerts as third at 29.71 percent and eating out fourth at 24.57 percent, Koreans tended to want to eat out at 25.49 percent more than they wanted to see exhibitions and shows at 17.16 percent.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)