Korean workers spend average 72 mins on commutes

A recent analysis by the Korean Statistical Office revealed that the average daily commute for Korean workers involves spending approximately one hour and 12 minutes traveling to and from work. This translates to around 12 days a year spent navigating the notorious rush hour traffic. Commuters in the metropolitan area face the longest and most challenging journeys, covering a distance of 20 kilometers in a whopping one hour and 20 minutes.

According to the experimental analysis conducted by Statistics Korea on workers' commuting patterns as of June this year, the average round-trip commuting time was calculated at 72.6 minutes (34.7 minutes for the morning commute and 37.9 minutes for the evening journey). Considering that the typical work year comprises around 250 days, commuters spend roughly 12 days and half a day commuting each year. The average distance traveled by commuters was 18.4 kilometers a day.

Regionally, the workforce in the Seoul metropolitan region experienced the most demanding morning commute, averaging 83.2 minutes, a significant gap compared to the second-highest, the Southeastern region, at 63.7 minutes. In contrast, the Gangwon region boasted the shortest commute at 52.1 minutes. The commuting distance followed a similar trend, with the Seoul metropolitan region covering the longest distance at 20.4 kilometers and the Chungcheong region at 17.4 kilometers. Workers in Jeju covered the shortest distance at 15.7 kilometers.

Among commuters, 24.6% started their journey to work before 7 a.m., with 31.6% of males leading this early morning trend. Conversely, females had a higher proportion (26.0%) of starting their commute around 8 a.m. As age increased, there was a corresponding rise in the percentage of individuals commuting before 7 a.m. and finishing before 5 p.m. Conversely, those under 30 tended to start and finish their workdays later than other age groups.


1am@donga.com