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4 in 10 Korean children say they lack time to play

Published: 04 May. 2026, 09:57 Updated: 04 May. 2026, 19:37

Children play at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on May 3. [News1]

Four in 10 children in Korea say they do not have enough time to play, according to the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) survey released on Sunday.

Of the total of 1,177 children between fourth and 11th grade, 40.1 percent identified "lack of play time" as the biggest obstacle to their right to play, followed by "adult interference" at 29.4 percent, "lack of awareness of the importance of the right to play" at 13.9 percent, "lack of play space" at 6.5 percent and "lack of information" at 3.8 percent. Adult respondents similarly identified "lack of play time" as the biggest barrier, at 34.8 percent.

The right to play is recognized under Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

When asked what support was needed to better protect the right to play, 38.3 percent of children chose "providing more play time." The survey also included 815 adults, including teachers, 32.5 percent of whom stated the need for "improving awareness of the importance of the right to play."

The survey also showed that though awareness of the right to play was high, the extent to which children felt that right was actually being upheld was considerably lower.

The average score for awareness of children's rights was 3.68 out of 4, while awareness of the right to play scored 3.69. Higher scores indicate greater agreement. The average score for how well children felt their rights were being protected in practice, however, was 3.21. The right to play scored 3.15.

"Because children often need adult permission over their daily schedules to play freely, children prioritized what they directly need for play, while adults placed greater importance on awareness — an indirect factor," the agency said in its press release.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]