Cheong Wa Dae underground bunker

By Lee Chang-sup

President Lee Myung-bak still uses a Cheong Wa Dae underground bunker for economic crisis management meetings.

Now there are many reasons why he needs to use the bunker for charting policies to make people feel happy.

Many data indicate that the quality of life in Korea lags behind its economic achievements.

Newsweek ranked South Korea as the world's 15th best country to live in, providing the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life. However, the country is 29th in quality of life which evaluates income inequality, the jobless rate and gender discrimination.

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs ranked the nation 25th out of the 32 OECD countries in its happiness index. The quality of life for Koreans stood at 42nd this year, down from 32nd last year, according to Ireland’s journal International Living. The Economist Intelligence Unit placed Korea 32nd out of 40 countries in quality of death, meaning Koreans are not enjoying quality services on their demise.

In the happiness index, Korea is on a par with South Africa, Turkey and Peru, which are smaller than Korea from an economic viewpoint.

Mexicans and Venezuelans, who have a lower per capita income than Korea, are rated to be living more happily than Koreans. Korea is below the OECD average in the happiness index. Denmark is regarded as the world’s happiest nation.

Perception gap

The Newsweek ranking indicated foreigners are more positive than Koreans in the assessment of the country.

A perception gap exists between Koreans and foreigners about Korea. Many foreigners see it as a land of dynamism and opportunity, while many Koreans see their motherland as a land of crisis, competition, stress and unhappiness.

When foreigners look at commuters moving out of a subway station for work in the morning, they look like warriors ready for a once-in-a-lifetime duel. Many of them look grim and smile-less. Koreans are working the world’s fourth longest time of 2,305 hours per year after Qatar, Mexico and Hong Kong.

The face-saving culture here often makes Koreans unhappy.

Unlike foreigners, Koreans have to follow obligations and duties like attending weddings every weekend that takes up so much time. Koreans are also rude to one another but polite to foreigners.

Neighbors are always rivals and objects for comparison. When a neighbor’s son or daughter is married to a well-educated rich person, other parents also want their children to do the same. Korea is a society of comparison. This makes them unhappy.

The more you have the desire to show off, the less happy you will be.

Newsweek did not include human rights, inter-Korean tension, regionalism, rule of law and transparency in its survey.

Korea boasts of the world’s highest Internet penetration rate and second-highest Internet speed. But human rights groups complain about compromised freedom of expression in the cyber world.

Even ruling party lawmakers complain about government surveillance of their family members. Rep. Jeong Tae-keun of the governing Grand National Party said he and his wife were under the close watch of the National Intelligence Service.

The revelation came after members of a unit at the Prime Minister's Office were indicted for its unlawful surveillance of a civilian. Few question backward movement of human rights under the Lee administration.

Inter-Korean tension has reached an alarming level, especially after North Korea's torpedo attack on a South Korean warship, which killed 46 sailors. Political feuding is a constant source of stress for citizens, with both conservatives and liberals fighting each other.

Backward politics pulled down the national ranking ― Newsweek placed Korea 23rd in the political environment.

President Lee said that Korean democracy is swamped in anger. Democracy in Korea is not mature in handling conflicts through conversation and logical means.

The country tied second with Canada after Finland in education excellence. Korean students have the world’s second highest IQ (intelligent quotient) of 106 after Singapore.

Koreans are puzzled when foreigners, including US President Barack Obama, admire the local education system. They are also studying for the longest time in the world ― seven hours and 50 minutes daily.

The magazine also lauded Korea for its fast recovery from the global economic crisis. The country recorded the world’s fourth highest growth rate in the past four decades, the UN said. The World Bank rates Korea as the 15th largest economy this year. Korea posted the fifth highest growth rate in 2009 in the OECD.

Despite a 10-year high growth rate this year, economic polarization is deepening. In the OECD, the nation has the ninth worst income disparity. The nation's global ranking would shoot above 15th if it could reduce this.

The youth jobless rate is quite high. Many college students delay graduation as they are unable to find jobs. The middle-class base is crumbling, while the performance gap between small and big companies is widening. The current weak currency policy benefitted exporters at the risk of importing inflation and cornering domestic-oriented firms and consumers.

The strong growth was made at the cost of fiscal soundness. The nation's fiscal health has reached a serious point, at least by Korean standards. Many public enterprises and local autonomous bodies are exposed to financial trouble. Even Seoul City has started a belt-tightening plan to slash debt.

In a Liberation Day speech, President Lee said he would seek to create a fair society. If Koreans feel the nation is moving toward a fairer society, they will be happier than now.

Lee Chang-sup is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times. He can be reached at editorial@koreatimes.co.kr.