Youth Leisure Activities and Policy Suggestions: Focusing on Hwaseong City

Abstract

This study analyzed opinions and open responses from youth in Hwaseong City about their anxieties, stress, as well as the types of leisure and rest activities they engage in, through collecting and analyzing questionnaire data to make policy suggestions accordingly. The purpose of this study is to create a youth policy specifically tailored to the needs of the local youth in Hwaseong City. The questionnaire was distributed to middle and high schools in Hwaseong City from December 19 to December 28, 2016, and 3,187 responses were collected from 12 middle schools and 8 high schools. Schools were selected evenly from 4 regions of Hwaeong City for a fair representation of responses from various regions of the city. Specifically, questionnaires were distributed and collected from 7 middle schools in the eastern region, 5 middle schools in the southwestern region, 4 high schools in the eastern region, and 4 high schools in the southwestern region. The responses of 3,104 respondents were coded using the Microsoft Office Excel 2013, and descriptive statistics and average comparison analysis were performed using Excel 2013 as well as IBM SPSS 22. The open responses were analyzed using Word Cloud site (https://worditout.com/word -cloud / create). The results of the survey revealed that middle and high school students expressed the highest degree of interests in cultural and art activities as well as leisure and sports activities. Meanwhile, a high number of respondents also expressed their concerns about the lack of facilities and space for students to engage in cultural, art as well as sports and leisure activities. Based on the survey results, this study highlights the importance of developing programs and facilities to promote various arts and leisure activities to establish a stronger policy regarding youth leisure activities.