Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean elementary school children's extracurricular activities by gender, grade and area from a sample of 3,608 children in six Korean provincial areas except Jeju-do. They responded to the questionnaire developed by the researchers. Data were analyzed by frequency and percent using the SPSS PC 15.0 program. Results were as follows: Firstly, 3,337 children(92.5%) participated in extracurricular activities, and the rest(7.5%) did not. This result illustrates that the majority of Korean elementary school children are taking part in at least one or more out-of-school activities. Secondly, the average number of extracurricular activities in which elementary school children participated was 8.48 and the average time allotted was 655.24 minutes; each child took about 8 activities and spent approximately 10 hours per week. Thirdly, main extracurricular activities in which children participated were to go to educational institutes, to take art/physical education lessons, and to study self-learning materials. Lastly, what elementary school children wish to do most in their spare time was to play the computer games, to take a rest, to enjoy family and friend relationships, and to watch the television.
