Effects of Relative Leisure Deprivation between Regions on Life Satisfaction in Koreans: Focusing on Baby Boomers

Regional disparities in leisure facilities deprive residents of opportunities to participate in leisure. This study aimed to provide basic data for establishing public leisure welfare policies to reduce the leisure gap among different regions and to verify the effects of relative leisure deprivation (RLD) on the life satisfaction of Koreans, with a focus on the baby boomer generation. For this purpose, 7 items of demographic characteristics related to gender, age, marital status, job status, residence area, monthly income, and educational background, 18 items of relative leisure deprivation consisting of egoistical, resourceful, cognitive, and emotional leisure deprivation, and 5 items of life satisfaction were investigated. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 30 questions and a mobile survey was conducted in October 2020, and a total of 412 copies were used for the final analysis. The results showed that there were differences in RLD and life satisfaction depending on where the participants lived; RLD (M = 3.21, M = 2.95) was higher and life satisfaction (M = 3.36, M = 3.72) was lower in rural areas, as compared with urban areas. Second, baby boomers’ RLD had a negative effect (β = −0.5391, p < 0.001) on life satisfaction. Third, the place of residence moderated (β = 0.5240, p < 0.001) the relationship between RLD and life satisfaction; a higher RLD led to a lower level of life satisfaction for baby boomers living in rural areas (95% CI: −0.7369~−0.3413), whereas the RLD of those in urban areas did not affect their life satisfaction. Therefore, central or local governments must effectively narrow the regional gap through a balanced distribution of leisure resources to remote and underdeveloped environments, thereby minimizing the RLD of citizens and seeking improvement in life satisfaction. Finally, the part that the psychological aspect of the individual study was not considered due to the limitations of quantitative research suggests the direction of subsequent research.