In this blog post, we’ll examine how much time people spend on TV and video content based on the latest Time Use Survey results, explore the evolution of TV, display technology, and changes in broadcast signals, and look at how TV will evolve in the future.
According to the “2024 Time Use Survey Results” released by Statistics Korea in 2025, citizens aged 10 and older spent an average of 5 hours and 8 minutes per day on leisure activities in 2024. Of this time, leisure activities involving media averaged 2 hours and 28 minutes on weekdays, 3 hours and 16 minutes on Saturdays, and 3 hours and 27 minutes on Sundays. In particular, live broadcast viewing averaged 1 hour and 30 minutes on weekdays, 1 hour and 59 minutes on Saturdays, and 2 hours and 8 minutes on Sundays, while video viewing averaged 36 minutes on weekdays, 50 minutes on Saturdays, and 52 minutes on Sundays. The percentage of people watching live broadcasts was 71.1% on Sundays, and their average viewing time was 3 hours and 1 minute. In contrast, the proportion of video viewers on Sundays was 45.4%, a significant increase from five years ago. While video content, including TV, still plays a significant role in our leisure time, the way people consume video has changed significantly from the past.
TV is an abbreviation for “Television,” a word derived from the Greek “tele,” meaning “far,” and the Latin “visio,” meaning “to see.” As the word suggests, television is a long-distance communication medium that transmits visual moving images to viewers, along with sound. Although the term “TV” is currently used in everyday life to refer to both television sets and television programs, this article will focus on the television set itself.
The development of television incorporates the fundamental principles and technologies discovered by countless scientists and engineers. Early developments in television utilized the photoelectric effect—which converts light into electrical signals—the technology of scanning images line by line, and the principle of using the persistence of vision to create the perception of a continuous image. In particular, when German inventor Paul Nipkow devised a mechanical scanning method using a rotating disc in 1884, he established a key principle necessary for breaking down images into electrical signals and reproducing them. Subsequently, John Logie Baird publicly demonstrated moving images in the United Kingdom in 1926, and regular experimental broadcasts began via the BBC in 1929. In 1936, the BBC launched a regular high-definition television service, and electronic television became firmly established as a mainstream broadcasting technology.
Since then, television has gradually evolved into a medium that delivers a wide range of information—such as news, advertisements, and entertainment—through various channels. Starting in the 1970s, video recording and playback media such as videocassettes and laser discs emerged, and later, with the widespread adoption of digital video media like DVDs, the TV evolved from a device used solely for watching broadcasts into one capable of playing a wide variety of video content. Since the late 1990s, the emergence of IPTV—which uses Internet Protocol—has spurred the full-scale convergence of broadcasting and the Internet, making interactive services and on-demand content accessible via TV.
Televisions have traditionally consisted of electronic circuits that interpret broadcast signals transmitted by broadcasters, a tuner that selects channels, and a display device that shows the video. In the past, cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), LCDs, and PDPs were the primary display technologies, but today, LCD-based LED-backlit TVs and OLED TVs have become the dominant technologies, and new backlight technologies such as Mini-LED are also advancing.
First, cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions used a cathode-ray tube for display and were once widely used due to their rich color reproduction and wide viewing angles. However, due to the structural characteristics of the cathode-ray tube, they required a certain thickness, were heavy, and had limitations in scaling up screen sizes. Because of these drawbacks, CRT TVs virtually disappeared from the market as flat-panel displays became widespread.
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. While there are displays that use LEDs themselves as the light-emitting elements that make up the screen, the term “LED TV” as commonly used in the TV industry generally refers to an LCD TV that uses LEDs as the backlight. In other words, it is a system that replaces the traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) with LEDs as the light source behind the LCD panel. Therefore, it is more accurately referred to as an LED-backlit LCD TV. LED backlighting makes it easier to manufacture thinner TVs than the traditional CCFL method and is advantageous for reducing power consumption, making it a key technology driving the widespread adoption of LCD TVs.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. It works by placing a layer of liquid crystals between two glass substrates and adjusting the amount of light transmitted by changing the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in response to electrical signals. Since the LCD panel itself does not emit light, a backlight is required behind it. Early LCD TVs used CCFLs as backlights, but as LED backlights became widely adopted, it became possible to manufacture thinner and more energy-efficient TVs.
PDP stands for Plasma Display Panel. This technology involves enclosing a gas between two glass panels and applying a voltage to generate plasma; the ultraviolet light produced during this process excites a phosphor to emit light. Unlike LCDs, PDPs did not require a separate backlight, were well-suited for large screens, and offered advantages such as fast response times and wide viewing angles. Although they were once widely used in large wall-mounted TVs, they gradually disappeared from the market as LCDs and LED-backlit LCDs gained an edge in price competitiveness, energy efficiency, and product thickness. Major manufacturers discontinued plasma TV production between 2013 and 2014.
TVs can also be classified into analog and digital broadcasting based on the type of broadcast signal transmitted. While both analog and digital broadcasting share the commonality of transmitting broadcast signals via radio waves at specific frequencies, digital broadcasting converts information such as video and audio into digital data before transmitting it. Digital broadcasting can be categorized into SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition) based on criteria such as picture quality and resolution; subsequently, broadcasts and content with even higher resolutions, such as Full HD and UHD, have emerged. In contrast, analog broadcasting converts information such as video and audio into continuous analog signals for transmission. While the analog method is highly susceptible to noise and signal distortion during transmission, the digital method enables more efficient compression, transmission, and error correction by processing information as digital data.
Terrestrial analog TV broadcasting in South Korea ended on December 31, 2012, and the country transitioned to digital broadcasting. Consequently, terrestrial TV broadcasting in South Korea is currently conducted digitally.
Now that we’ve examined the development and history of television, what will TVs look like in the future?
In the near future, TVs are expected to evolve beyond simply making existing LCD or LED displays thinner; instead, they will move toward achieving even thinner and sharper screens based on self-emissive displays like OLED and advanced LED backlight technologies. OLED TVs have already established themselves as a key display technology in the premium TV market, and technologies such as Mini LED are also advancing to improve the contrast ratio and picture quality of LCD-based TVs. In addition, research is ongoing into technologies that transform the very form of the screen itself, such as transparent and flexible displays.
From a software perspective as well, TVs are evolving into something entirely different from the past. While traditional televisions provided one-way, identical content from broadcasters to viewers, today’s TVs have evolved into smart TVs connected to the internet, allowing users to select and watch content tailored to their individual tastes. With the proliferation of IPTV and streaming services, viewers can now select the content they want whenever they want, without having to wait for scheduled broadcast times. Content has also become more extensive and diverse as it connects to the internet and various digital devices and services. In the future, TVs that integrate multiple media and functions—such as not only watching videos but also making video calls, accessing internet services, viewing various online content, and controlling smart home devices—will become even more commonplace.
In the past, concepts such as transparent TVs, foldable TVs, TV glasses, displays worn directly on the eye like contact lenses, and holographic TVs were presented as visions of the future. However, some of these technologies have yet to establish themselves as mainstream TV products, and to date, the TV market remains centered on large flat-panel displays, internet connectivity, streaming, and personalized content services. Therefore, it remains to be seen which technologies will actually be commercialized and become the new standard for TVs.
One thing is certain, however: just as the old cathode-ray tube TVs of the past were eventually replaced, today’s TVs may one day be supplanted by new technologies. TVs are no longer merely “idiot boxes” that simply receive and display broadcasts. They are rapidly transforming into a platform that connects to the internet, delivers content based on user preferences, and links to other digital devices and services. In the future, TVs will continue to evolve into faster, more diverse, and smarter forms. Constantly changing to the point where the old nickname “idiot box” no longer applies, what new forms will TVs take in the future? It will certainly be fascinating to see how TVs—which have long been a part of our lives—will combine with new technologies to become yet another “Pandora’s box.”
