Social Development and People`s Leisure Time Changes in Korea During 1970-2000

Abstract

Leisure is frequently defined simply as "time free from the demands of work or duty" as the term has originated from the Latin word "licere," meaning "to be permitted," or "to be free" to do something for its own sake. As such, leisure is considered the antonym of work, and the two activities are thought to be mutually exclusive. Leisure usually connotes freedom, liberty and unconstrained, voluntary and tension-easing activity while work means something restraining, involuntary, tedious and arduous. However, with the development of human society, the concept of leisure has evolved. In modern societies, leisure is often conceived not as a simple pastime or free time but as a "meaningful activity" which is an end in itself (Kelly, 1982). Many researchers of leisure argue that leisure is what truly characterizes a modem society where everybody enjoys leisure. Unlike in ancient Greece where only the aristocrats enjoyed their free time as the only "leisure class" to do something they wanted, in modem societies leisure has become a basic mode of life, and it constitutes a culture of its own.