Korea's rural and urban culture gap remains large: survey

SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- Only two out of every 10 residents in farming and
fishing villages throughout South Korea attend at least one theatrical
performance or other cultural event each year, a local survey showed Wednesday,
attesting to the large cultural divide between the country's urban and rural
areas.
Only 21.4 percent of people living in rural districts saw at least one
performance or exhibition within the past year, according to a survey of 1,000
rural residents by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute.
Some 31.4 percent of residents in the countryside saw at least one movie during
the same period, showing a gap of 22.4 percentage points with their counterparts
in the city and metropolitan areas, the survey also showed.
People living on the southern island of Jeju and in northeastern Gangwon Province
showed the lowest rate of attendance for cultural activities, while those in
Seoul and adjacent regions showed the highest rate.
While 63.4 percent of rural residents said it was "technically inconvenient" to
visit theaters or attend cultural events, 35.8 percent of urban residents
answered the same.
The survey was released during a policy symposium held to celebrate the seventh
anniversary of the opening of the state-run institute on Wednesday.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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