A happiness survey by Gallup Korea at the end of last year revealed a number of interesting things about how Koreans feel about their lives. First, the level of happiness was not directly proportional to the level of economic growth. In the survey, 52 percent of Koreans said they were happy, while 40 percent said somewhat happy and 8 percent unhappy. That was similar to a survey conducted 20 years ago which showed 52 percent of Koreans saying they were happy, 42 percent somewhat happy and 6 percent unhappy. Per-capita gross national income increased around three times, from US$8,402 in 1993 to $23,000 last year, but the happiness index has remained virtually unchanged.
The second interesting thing the latest survey revealed was that attitudes toward happiness vary significantly according to subjective views on living conditions rather than actual income. When respondents who said they were happy were broken down by income, 57 percent of those who make more than W5 million (US$1=W1,124) felt happy, compared to 52 percent of respondents who earned between W2 million to W4.99 million and 50 percent of those who make less than W2 million. In other words, there was no marked difference in the proportion of people who were happy in different income groups.
This could be seen as evidence that efforts to narrow the income disparity in society may not have a direct impact on happiness. But when respondents were asked whether they considered themselves to be in the upper, middle or lower class, 71 percent of those who considered themselves upper class said they were happy, compared to 55 percent of those who considered themselves middle class and only 35 percent of those who considered themselves lower class. In other words, happiness seems dependent not on the amount of money but on the status it brings.
Men in their 40s and 50s with high salaries but exposed to stiff competition and the responsibilities of feeding their families were the least happy with 43 percent for each age group. Among respondents in their 20s and 30s, who are opinion leaders on the Internet, 60 percent said they were happy. Derek Bok of Harvard University wrote in his book "The Politics of Happiness" that happiness is a value that transcends the ideology of money often characterized by contradictory arguments between conservatives who focus on touting economic growth and liberals who pursue equitable distribution. Bok cites six decisive factors for happiness -- marriage, health, work, personal relations, volunteer or religious activities and quality of government -- and points out that governments need to speed up efforts to strengthen job creation, retirement benefits, public healthcare and public education.
Park Geun-hye of the ruling Grand National Party said in a radio address early this year, "The most important policy objective now must be the happiness of the public." Han Myeong-sook of the Democratic Unity Party, said on Jan. 15, right after being elected as party chief, "I will create a country in which the majority of the public is happy." The Ven. Pomnyun Sunim, a Buddhist monk who is the mentor of software tycoon and presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo, said in a recent lecture, "The objective of politics must be to ensure the happiness and freedom of the public."
Listening to the pledges of politicians makes it sound as though victory by either side would make a majority happier. But a survey by Hangil Research last month showed that 68 percent of Koreans named politicians as the main cause of misfortune in our society. Politicians may be competing to make people happy, but a majority of Koreans simply pray that they do not ruin what little they have to feel happy about.
