Immigrants in Korea have become more active in enjoying cultural activities , a government survey showed Tuesday . According to the survey on 1 , 017 immigrants aged over 20 randomly picked by the Ministry of Culture , Sports and Tourism , the percentage of the respondents who enjoyed stage arts , classical music concerts and dance performances at least once in the past year tripled to 22 percent in 2010 from 7 percent in 2008 . The percentage of those who enjoyed pop culture performances quadrupled to 17 percent in 2010 from 4 percent in 2008 . The respondents who went to art exhibitions also rose to 9 percent from 3 . 5 percent during the same period . The survey was first conducted in 2008 by the Culture Ministry in order to study and meet the culture and leisure needs of immigrants . It is the second time the ministry conducted the survey . The Internet was a major medium that helped immigrants get access to cultural information , the ministry said . About 65 percent said they used the Internet in 2010 , more than double the 2008 figure of 27 percent . Among them , 58 percent said they used the Internet to get access to cultural performances , a great boost from 18 percent in 2008 , the ministry said . The largest barrier for immigrants to “ live culturally ” in Korea was non - fluency in Korean . About 31 percent of the respondents blamed the language barrier . Lack of time for leisure came in second at 21 percent . Difficulty in adapting to Korean etiquettes and norms ranked third with 18 percent and prejudice against immigrants , fourth with 12 percent . The largest percentage of respondents , 29 percent , urged the government to provide state - run Korean language education programs for immigrants . Another 24 percent called for a program to experience Korea ’ s traditional etiquette . By Kim Yoon - mi ( yoonmi @ heraldm . com )