• Importance of food and dietary life in citizens’ happiness has gone up to 7.64 points (out of 10)
• Percentage of people who consume an adequate amount of vegetables fell by 6.9% YOY, while the percentage of those who consume an excessive amount of sweetened beverages rose by 2.7%
• 87.3% of citizens believe that food sold in Seoul is “safe” and 97.3% believe locally-sourced Korean produce is “safe”
• Dietary guidelines to be formulated for citizens to enjoy safe food and to enhance the management of foodstuff

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) conducted a food statistical survey from July 11 to August 12, 2022, targeting 3,904 citizens (2,000 households), which revealed an increase in citizens’ perception that “food and dietary life are important for happiness” along with their “experience of enjoying meals.”

※ The city conducts its food statistical survey annually to examine perceptions and behaviors related to dietary habits, food consumption and understanding of food (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) as well as the impact of food and dietary life on daily life, including happiness, and policy demands.

Citizens are increasingly finding happiness and enjoyment through food

The food statistical survey conducted over the past three years (2020–2022) revealed that categories exhibiting an upward trend in citizens’ behavior of obtaining actual happiness and joy are related to the experience of enjoying meals, such as “enjoy cooking” at 5.58 points (5.44 points in 2020), “savor various senses during a meal” at 5.97 points (5.78 points in 2020), and “enjoy having food with others” at 6.29 points (5.57 points in 2020). In particular, the joy of sharing or eating food with surrounding people saw the largest increase (see data 2).

Meanwhile, satisfaction with food and dietary life fell slightly to 6.85 points from 6.95 points in the previous year. There has been the largest drop in the satisfaction with food and dietary life among those aged 70 and above and those with a monthly household income of KRW 2 million or less, whereas middle and upper-middle-income groups with monthly incomes of KRW 350 to 700 million displayed a rise in satisfaction, indicating a widening gap in satisfaction with food and dietary life by age and income over the past three years (see data 1).

The 2022 survey found that the importance of food and dietary life in happiness increased to 7.64 points (out of 10), up from 7.51 points in 2021.

The 30s age group (7.86 points), married couples (7.68 points), homemakers (7.73 points), and those with a monthly household income of KRW 2 to 3.5 million (7.88 points) were found to consider “food and dietary life” as the most important element to be happy on a scale of 1 to 10 in this order (see data 1).

The city reported that this survey results demonstrate the positive impact of food and dietary life on citizens’ happiness and the fact that more citizens find joy and happiness through food every year appears to reflect the recent trend of consumption behavior that follows healthy pleasure.

“Healthy pleasure” is a term used to describe one of the top ten trends in 2022 of “finding pleasure in managing health.”

The percentage of individuals who consume appropriate amounts of vegetables has declined while the percentage of those who consume excessive amounts of sweetened beverages has risen

In 2022, citizens ate alone 4.5 times per week, which saw a drop from the previous year (5.1 times) but an increase from 2020 (3.4 times).

Individuals were found to eat alone at home 3.6 times and outside their home 0.9 times, and those who eat alone frequently were 23% and 30% less likely to consume sufficient amounts of protein, and vegetables and fruits, respectively, than those who eat alone less frequently.

The main reason behind eating alone was because “there is nobody to eat with” at a rate of 69.3%, with socially isolated groups such as ages 70 and older (86.3%) and single-person households (91.7%) exhibiting higher rates.

More citizens consumed appropriate amounts of food from each group compared to the previous year but this figure for vegetables fell by 6.9%p to 28.7% from the previous year (35.6%). The percentage of citizens who consume sweetened beverages excessively at a frequency of three times or more per week rose by 2.7%p, indicating that individuals rely on unbalanced diet depending on their personal food preferences.

Over the past three years, the intake of adequate amounts of whole grain remained high at 60% or higher, and while this figure for “meat, fish, eggs, and beans” was the lowest at 19.8%, it had been on the upward trend over the past two years.

In particular, the percentages of citizens who consume meat (grilled and fried) and sweetened beverages at least once a day saw significant increase to 17.1% (7.7% in 2020) and 32.2% (19.4% in 2020), respectively.

In 2022, the price of food products became a major issue due to the COVID-19 pandemic and food price inflation, and 8 out of 10 citizens reported that they were struggling to cope with the cost of food.

Assuming that the food price in Seoul was 100 one year ago, respondents indicated that the perceived food price, as of 2020, was 126.2% on average and 81.7% of citizens responded that food prices are a burden on account of their consumption level.

Among the citizens who find the cost of food burdensome and have changed their food consumption habit, the largest group responded that they “refrain from purchasing various foods and purchase essential items only (59.2%), followed by those who “purchase lower-priced foods instead (imported products, etc.)” (28.1%), “purchase inexpensive processed foods” (25.4%), and “reduce the number of meals or eat more convenience foods (12.9%).

Foods bought offline accounted for 74.6% of total purchases, while online purchases made up 25.4% but those in their 20s and 30s were more likely to use online and delivery/packaged food services than other age groups.

Those in their 20s (40.0%) and 30s (41.2%) had a higher proportion of online food purchases compared to older age groups and most of them (99.7%) were able to order food products and delivery foods online but this percentage was lower among those in their 60s or older (36.9% for 60s; 9.4% for 70s), indicating a significant gap in the ability to use online food purchasing services by age.

The survey found that 71.2% of citizens use delivery/packaged food services 1.1 times per week on average. Those in their 30s, in particular, use these services 1.5 times per week on average and young adults (20s and 30s) who live alone responded an average of 1.6 times per week, exhibiting higher rates than other groups.

87.3% citizens perceive food products sold in Seoul to be “safe”

The survey found that 87.3% of citizens perceive food products sold in Seoul to be “safe” (82.5% “generally safe” and 4.8% “very safe”), indicating that the majority of citizens consider food products sold in Seoul to be safe.

Food products with the highest perceived safety was “domestically-sourced Korean produce” (97.3%), which attained the highest response rate of “very safe (43.0%).” On the other hand, the perceived food safety for eating out/takeout food was rated relatively low, as 76.7% perceived (eating out and packaged food) foods eaten at a restaurant to be safe while 59.3% perceived delivery foods as safe.

The perceived food safety for simple and convenient foods that have become more in-demand in recent years was the highest for “fresh convenience foods” at 84.7%, followed by “meal kits” at 71.3%, “ready-to-eat foods” at 63.1%, and “instant consumable foods” at 51.8%.

Meanwhile, the citizens believed that the main cause of unsafe food products was poor manufacturing and distribution environments of food companies, which accounted for 57.3%, followed by lack of consciousness of food safety among companies, accounting for 53.0%.

In response to the survey results, Seoul plans to launch a campaign designed to increase vegetable consumption and reduce sugar intake to promote more balanced diet among its citizens. The city will also bolster food safety management, by means such as providing hygiene consulting, for manufacturers of convenience foods for home consumption and restaurants that deliver facing increasing demand.