• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.125-134
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• 2017

This study is aimed at analyzing desired spaces and demands for their improvements, and subsequently proposing the design plan for eating and drinking places for solo diners by surveying the user satisfaction based on the analysis of the space configuration, and the physical environment of eating and drinking spaces for solo diners. Theoretical discussions about eating and drinking spaces for solo diners and their physical environment were reviewed from the previous studies, and an on-site survey was conducted with a checklist, for which the items regarding configuring elements of physical environments for the satisfaction with eating and drinking spaces for solo diners have been derived. Measurable checklist items according to the configuration of eating and drinking spaces were derived for this survey, which had then been conducted with diners in the eating and drinking spaces for 2 weeks. The analysis results are as follows. First, cleanliness is required as a necessity for the user satisfaction in eating and drinking spaces for solo diners. Second, a '-' shaped bar and the spaces to utilize and combine additional facilities are required in the central service space. Third, the self service should be performed in the additional service space. Fourth, the menu composition and the location selection considering main age groups of diners are needed. Fifth, interior design elements need to be improved to allow diners to feel visual interest along with enjoying food and beverage. It is considered that the strategies of spatial design need to be analyzed and proposed from the perspective of design among the physical environments of eating and drinking spaces for solo diners in future studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.531-542
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• 2018

This study was conducted to compare solo eating perceptions and dietary behaviors in the Seoul and Gyonggi-do regions according to gender. The study focused on the dietary perceptions, solo eating, eating together, dietary habits, food intake patterns and 38 keywords pertaining to solo eating. Of 411 subjects, 207 (50.4%) were males and 204 (49.6%) were females. The biggest problem that respondents perceived in their dietary life was irregular eating. Women prepared meals more often than men (p<0.001) and ate more instant and frozen food than men (p<0.05). Both males and females missed breakfast most, and the amount of the population eating breakfast alone ranked second highest. Women had lunch alone more often than men, while men ate dinner alone more often than women (p<0.01). All respondents spent 5~15 min when eating alone. Women avoided excessive smoking and drinking more than men (p<0.001). Men related key words regarding solo eating with negative emotions such as 'lonely', 'boring', and 'feel sorry when I see someone eating alone in a restaurant' more than women. Conversely, women related more positive key words with eating alone such as 'free', 'joy', and 'my own time'. Dietary lives of Koreans have rapidly changed along with social changes. Our research findings will contribute to increased comprehensive menu development and HMR development in the foodservice industry.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.523-529
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Commensality, eating together with others, is a major representation of human sociality. In recent time, environments around commensality have changed significantly due to rapid social changes, and the decline of commensality is perceived as a serious concern in many modern societies. This study employs a cross-cultural analysis of university students in two East Asian countries, and examines cross-cultural variations of perceptions and actual practices of commensality and solo-eating. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The analysis was drawn from a free-list survey and a self-administrative questionnaires of university students in urban Korea and Japan. The free-listing survey was conducted with a small cohort to explore common images and meanings of commensality and solo-eating. The self-administrative questionnaire was developed based on the result of the free-list survey, and conducted with a larger cohort to examine reasons and problems of practices and associated behaviors and food intake. RESULTS: We found that Korean subjects tended to show stronger associations between solo-eating and negative emotions while the Japanese subjects expressed mixed emotions towards the practice of solo-eating. In the questionnaire, more Korean students reported they prefer commensality and tend to eat more quantities when they eat commensally. In contrast, more Japanese reported that they do not have preference on commensality and there is no notable difference in food quantities when they eat commensally and alone. Compared to the general Korean cohort finding, more proportion of overweight and obese groups of Korean subjects reported that they tend to eat more when they are alone than normal and underweight groups. This difference was not found in the overweight Japanese subjects. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed cross-cultural variations of perceptions and practices of commensality and solo-eating in a non-western setting.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-71
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• 2015

This study assessed gender differences of 'solo eating' perceptions and dietary behaviors among college students residing in Seoul and Kyongki province. Two types of questionnaires were used to analyze perception and dietary behaviors of subjects: a cross-sectional survey (N=893) and AGA (Associative Group Analysis; N=50). Women ate significantly more and intook a greater variety of foods when eating together (P<0.05). Men, on the other hand, showed no difference in these variables. Women, compared to men, spent more time eating both alone and together (P<0.001). In the associative group analysis (AGA), women showed a different semantic value for 'solo eating' compared to men. Women also tended to feel lonely when they ate alone and had positive images of eating together. Students began to decide their own dietary behaviors after junior and high school. Dietary lives of Koreans have rapidly changed along with social changes over the past half century. These research findings will contribute to more comprehensive and efficient nutrition education programs for preventing lifestyle-related diseases in the early stage of adulthood.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.280-289
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• 2012

The objective of this research was to explore the influences of 'having a meal with someone' on individuals' eating pattern. Eating is not a simple matter of energy intake but also serves to anchor daily routines being cultivated by people and society. This study was conducted using a cross-sectional eating behavior survey of university students (N = 893, 380 men, 513 women) aged 20 to 24 years. Results were analyzed and presented as frequencies, means and ${\chi}^2$-test with SPSS 14.0. Differences in dietary habits by commensality and solo-eating were observed; Students who ate alone, spent 15 min for a meal and ate convenience food items when they didn't feel hungry. Compared to students who ate alone, those who ate together with someone spent 30 min for a meal and ate more amount of food. Eighty percent of respondents ate more various menus in commensality than solo-eating. They felt lonely when they ate alone and preferred to eat together. In conclusion, university students start to decide and select their own meals by themselves after junior and high school food services which are fixed with regard to menu and the amount. Dietary habits of Koreans rapidly changed concomitant with social changes over the past half century. Governments and health experts recognize that unbalanced meals cause lifestyle-related diseases, in particular obesity. Our research findings will contribute to more comprehensive efficient nutrition education programs in order to prevent obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases in early stages of adulthood.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.155-166
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• 2021

Objectives: Driven by a growth of single-person households and individualized lifestyles, solo dining in restaurants is an increasingly recognizable trend. However, a research gap exists in the comparison of solo and group diners' menu-decision making processes. Based on the self-control dilemma and the temporal construal theory as a theoretical framework, this study compared the ordering intentions of solo vs. group diners with healthy vs. indulgent (less healthy) entrées. The mediating role of consumption orientation and the moderating role of amount of menu nutrition information were further explored to understand the mechanism and a boundary condition. Methods: A scenario-based online survey was developed using a 2 (dining social context: solo vs. with others) × 3 (amount of menu nutrition information: no nutrition information vs. calories vs. calories/fat/sodium), between-subjects, experimental design. Consumers' level of nutrition involvement was controlled. A nationwide survey data (n = 224) were collected from a crowdsourcing platform in the U.S. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance, independent t-test, univariate analysis of covariance, and moderated mediation analyses. Results: Findings reveal that solo (vs. group) diners have less (vs. more) intentions to order indulgent menu items due to a more utilitarian (vs. more hedonic) consumption orientation in restaurant dining. Findings also show that solo (vs. group) diners have more (vs. less) intentions to order healthy menu items when the restaurant menu presented nutrition information including calories, fat, and sodium. Conclusions: The findings contribute to the literature of foodservice management, healthy eating, and consumer behavior by revealing a mechanism and an external stimuli of solo vs. group diners' healthy menu-decision making process in restaurants. Furthermore, the findings provide restauranteurs and health professionals with insights into the positive and negative impacts of menu nutrition labelling on consumers' menu-decisions.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.55-85
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• 2019

In this article, we examine the real meaning behind the stories in which the N-po Generation (Millennial Generation) is depicted, through the observation of entertainment programs, TV series, and movies. This could be an opportunity to investigate the aspects of emotional customs of our era, which have been described by television media as portraying the complex and multifaceted reality in the most mundane and popular manner while influencing the public. Problems with youth unemployment, the polarization of life, and instability are not only global issues but situations that specifically occur in South Korea. It is thus vital to pay attention to the inner side of the N-po Generation who enjoy Sohwakhaeng (small but certain happiness) by eating alone as the placebo effect of this tough reality. This is an agenda that should be viewed as a problem in the fundamental design of South Korean society. The consciousness of the problem shown in the TV series has been drawing attention. The TV series Because depicts a love narrative that concentrates on emotions in a relationship that started between housemates due to poverty and housing problems, leading to marriage. Thus, the TV series persuasively dramatized 'confluent love' in the N-po Generation. In the movie , Miso can be regarded as a symbol that represents the emergence of a new generation of cultural sensitivity. There is a suggestion in the sequence of that identifies the pursuit of taste with the discovery of identity. The TV series is a growth narrative that deals heavily with youth unemployment, temporary workers, fragmented families, and dating violence. The housemates in find emotional stability through interaction with each other, and courageously approach their individual problems. In the process, images of women, who are empathetic towards others and are willing to jointly solve their problems, are calmly depicted to reveal a story of growth revolving around a ground emotional community. The current problem that South Korean society should contemplate is how to be fully human beyond mere survival, and how to further seek the conditions of human existence. In that sense, what we should pursue is a notion of 'publicness', which can put several generations together. Because of the reality that confliction between generations must be triggered, in order to make a passage of sympathizing, mass media's sensitivity training becomes more important. This may be the duty of mass media.