Friends and Games Matter More Than Romance... Adolescents Seeking 'Interaction with Others'

Korea Youth Activity Promotion Agency Announces Results of Youth Needs Survey

On the 19th, students are experiencing making silver rings at the 2022 Jongno-gu Youth Career and Job Fair held at Marronnier Park in Daehangno, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] It has been revealed that teenagers' greatest interests are not romantic relationships but friends and games.

On the 4th, the Korea Youth Activity Promotion Agency announced the results of a "Demand Survey for Activating the Linkage between Youth Activities and School Curricula." This survey was conducted with 1,447 participants including youth, teachers, and leaders to identify the needs necessary to expand opportunities for various activity experiences both inside and outside of school for teenagers.

First, among 499 youths (aged 11 to 18), the topic that attracted the most interest was friends (10.2%). Games and webtoons/comics (9.9%) ranked second, while romance and the opposite sex (8.3%) were lower in priority.

When asked about activities they want and wish to do, "interaction with others" received the highest selection at 12.4%, followed by "creating something new" (12.1%), "visiting other regions or countries" (10.5%), and "enjoying time alone" (10.4%).

As for the spaces teenagers most frequently want to visit, "a place to rest" (22.5%) and "an experiential space where various activities are possible" (16.8%) were chosen equally, and the adults they want to be with most were those who provide psychological and emotional stability.

In the survey targeting youth leaders and school teachers, the need to connect curricula with resources outside of school emerged. 76.8% of teachers and 78.0% of youth leaders responded that it is "necessary," and among them, 20.0% of teachers identified "expertise of the linked institutions" as the most important factor when connecting with resources outside of school.

When providing information on youth activities that can be linked with the school curriculum, 76.8% of teachers and 75.8% of youth leaders responded that it would be helpful. Additionally, youth leaders answered that "it is most necessary to establish a cooperative structure between the central-level education (support) offices and schools" (24.0%), while teachers responded that "individual teacher approaches have limitations in linking with resources outside of school" (14.3%).

Son Yeon-gi, Director of the Korea Youth Activity Promotion Agency, stated, "We will strive to ensure that youth activities and curricula are well connected through comprehensive promotion to raise awareness of youth activities," adding, "We will also work to expand opportunities for various youth activity programs so that young people can experience positive stimulation."