A Comparison of Time Use between Korean and the USA Families

The purpose of this study is to compare the patterns of time use between Korean and USA families. The data for 353 Seoul-based Korean families with two children living in Seoul and 130 USA families with two children living in the State of Utah were collected using a structured questionnaire and time diary. The major findings were as the following: 1. The Korean couples spent more time at personal care, paid work, and travel than the USA couples did, while the USA couples spent more time at housework and social-cultural activities than the Korean couples did. 2. The Korean wives spent more time doing food and clothing related housework than the USA wives did. Compared with the Korean wives, however, the time spent at house cleaning and management, family care and shopping and home management were longer than USA wives. The time U.S. husbands engaged in housework was much greater than by the Korean husbands. 3. Regardless of sex and school level, the Korean children spent less time at sleeping/rest, housework and socio-cultural activities and more time at eating and learning than those of U.S. These time use patterns of the families in both countries may reflect the differences of the cultural contexts, social norms, life styles, and the degrees of urbanization. To fully explain the findings, further study on the differences in social and cultural factors between the two countries is needed.

한.미 양국간 가족의 시간사용 비교 연구