‘Living room’ is the most preferred space at home for Koreans (75%), but satisfaction level is low

IKEA Korea conducted this survey to gain a deeper understanding of the role of living room in the modern Korean lifestyle and identify the types of activities conducted in the living room, the level of satisfaction and frustrations felt by Korean consumers. The survey results will support IKEA Korea to offer various home furnishing ideas and solutions that enable the many people in Korea to love their homes.

According to the survey results, 75.0% of respondents said the living room was one of their most preferred spaces in their homes. The living room was also perceived as the most important space that improves the quality of life. The results also showed that on average, the respondents spent 4 hours a day in the living room on weekdays, and 6.5 hours during weekends. Most common activities in the living room were watching TV (85.9%), having conversations with family (78.1%), and resting/relaxing (77.7%). TV (94.8%) and sofa (86.0%) were some of the most common items found in the living room.

However, despite the high awareness of the role of the living room as a multi-functional space, only 39.3% of the respondents said that they were satisfied with their current living rooms. Furthermore, only 8.4% of respondents said that their living rooms may be ‘better than average’ as seen by guests. The reasons for such low confidence in their living rooms were the ‘small size (27.9%)’, and ‘lack of unique style that is different from others (27.7%)’. The level of satisfaction was especially low among respondent groups with children between the ages 0 and 7, as their living room is the main space for child care and is therefore often disorganized.

Survey results also showed that, though the satisfaction levels of the living room were low, the level of efforts to furnish or change the look of the living room was found to be low. On average, respondents said that they redecorated their living rooms 1.7 times a year. 16% said that they changed the living room interior only for specific events, like moving to a new home. Also, despite the importance of expressing individuality in the living room being highly recognized across all respondent groups, the actual realization level was low. In addition, although the levels of male and female respondents’ interest towards furnishing the living room were similar, the participation level among males was much lower than that of females. The reason for this gap was because most men recognize the living room as a space mainly used by the females and children.

“Under our vision to create a better everyday life for the many people, IKEA is committed to enabling the many Koreans to create love for their homes,” said IKEA Korea Marketing Manager Nicolas Johnsson, adding, “Based on the results of the survey, IKEA Korea will offer various home furnishing ideas and solutions that empower the Korean consumers to express themselves and enjoy a happy life in the living room.”