Posted on : Jun.5,2018 17:28 KST
Satisfaction among respondents decreased with age
South Koreans rated satisfaction with their quality of life at an average score of 6.4 points out of 10, a recent survey showed.
The findings also showed a close relationship between work-life balance and life satisfaction, with a high 7.7 average life satisfaction score for respondents who rated their private and working lives as balanced.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) announced findings on June 4 from a “national quality of life opinion survey” commissioned from the specialized polling organization Hankook Research. According to the findings, the highest overall quality of life satisfaction scores by age group were found among respondents aged 19 to 29, with an average score of 6.8 points out of 10. They were followed in order by respondents in their thirties (6.6), forties (6.4), fifties (6.3%), and the sixty or over age group (5.9%), indicating lower levels of satisfaction at higher ages.
In terms of family type, life satisfaction ratings were higher for larger households. With the average score of 6.0, satisfaction ratings for single-person households were lower than those for households with two people (6.2), four people (6.6), and five or more people (6.3). Life satisfaction was also higher with greater household income levels. Ratings for households earning less than 1 million won (US$940) a month averaged 5.5, lower than the 6.3 score for the 3–3.99 million won range (US$2,810–3,740) and 7.2 for the 6–6.99 million won range (US$5,620–6,550).
Respondents gave a score of 6.2 points out of 10 when asked to rate their work-life balance. Those who rated their work-life balance with a score of 8 or higher also averaged 7.7 for satisfaction with their quality of life. The highest level of quality of life satisfaction was reported for family relationships (7.9 points), health/healthcare (6.7), and child raising/education and residential environment (6.4), while satisfaction ratings were below average for jobs/income, social security/welfare, and natural environment/disaster safety (all 5.8), along with culture and leisure life (5.6).
As the area where the South Korean government most needs to focus efforts on improving quality of life, “jobs/income” had the highest rate of response at 36.3 percent, followed by “social security/welfare” (30.4 percent), and “health/healthcare” (10.4 percent).
The survey was administered to 1,500 South Koreans aged 19 or over nationwide over a one-week period from May 15 to 21. Randomly selected landline and mobile phone numbers were used. The margin of error was ±2.5 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.
By Kim Mi-young, staff reporter
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