미래가치를 창출하는 글로컬 산학일체 혁신대학
The Country That Is Successful but Not Happy
By Lee woo-seong Reporter, Junior of Mechanical Engineering
The Republic of Korea in the 21st century is in a more prosperous, democratic, and peaceful state than ever before. Korea has grown from the world's poorest country in the 1950s to a level comparable to Europe and North America. However, South Korea ranked 54th in the Ranking of Happiness between 2016-2018. In addition, Korea always ranks at the bottom of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in terms of indicators of happiness and quality of life. It is noteworthy that Korea ranked high in life expectancy (9th), per capita income (27th), and tolerance (40th), but did not receive good grades in social freedom (144th), corruption (100th), and social support (91th). Why is such a successful country so unhappy?
Social Structure
When researchers study societies, the labor indicator shows the causes of low corruption and social support scores. As of 2016, the proportion of workers in Korea receiving low wages (less than two-thirds of the median wage) in the labor market stood at 23.5 percent, the second worst among OECD countries, after the United States. The gender wage gap is the largest in the OECD and Korea also has the longest working hours in the OECD, except for Mexico. Additionally, the competition rate for college entrance exams is becoming more fierce. Whether they can access Daechi-dong, the center of private education, determines the success or failure of the college entrance exams. This social structure further intensifies the polarization of wealth. The farther away from the words "college graduate," "Seoul," "permanent employee," and "golden spoon," the more people live with the perception that life is a failure. There is a historical context for how our society has become like this. The pressures to have started at the poorest level in the 1950s and grow the economy faster than other countries have dominated Korean society for decades.
Social Freedom and Corruption
Korea has a small proportion of violent crimes, such as assault and murder, but a high proportion of tax evasion and embezzlement. It means the public has a high subjective perception of corruption, which is why we are so sensitive to illegality and perks. Also, one of the biggest factors behind the low happiness index is that our freedom ranking is at the bottom, at 144th place. There is a widespread atmosphere in Korean society that people have to live according to the standards of others.
What should we do?
It is hard to live your own way and people have to be wary of others because of the collectivist culture in East Asia. Comparing ourselves and constantly being compared to others are the biggest factors that lower the level of happiness. Korea has a lot of social comparisons compared to other countries. Therefore, in order for us to be happy we should have an attitude of focusing on ourselves rather than comparing ourselves to others. Also, if there is a government effort to improve the quality of people’s lives by investing in social welfare, South Korea will be happier.