By Choi Sung-jin
Most Koreans think they can never be rich, a survey showed Tuesday.
According to the survey by Media Research on wealth and wealthy people, 92 percent of respondents said they are not rich, and 63 percent think they will never be able to be wealthy.
Only 7.7 percent said they are rich, against the 92.3 percent who answered they are not. Asked when they think will be able to become rich, 63.5 percent said, “impossible during my lifetime.”
Even among the 36.5 percent of respondents who said they would become rich someday, 15.9 percent said it would be difficult in 10 years, with 10.5 percent citing 20 years, 3.8 percent saying 30 years and 1.6 percent, 40 years.
As to why they cannot become rich, 17.8 percent cited high education expenses and 17.1 percent pointed to rising home prices.
Koreans’ perception of wealthy people was not favorable, either. In a 10-point evaluation of likeability, 36 percent gave unlikeable marks of 0-4 points, outweighing the 20.6 percent who gave likeable marks of 6-10 points.
Eight out of 10 respondents also said they do not respect rich people. Among them, 23.6 percent said they neither recognize rich people’s efforts nor respect them, while 58 percent recognized the hard efforts of the wealthy but did not respect them. While the share of respondents who recognize but not respect fell from 63 percent in last year’s survey, those who neither recognize nor respect rose from 19.6 percent.
Netizens showed similar responses, with most regarding the results as inevitable in a society where the colors of spoons people are born with determine their class.
“If I were not born again with a gold spoon in my mouth, rising up the class ladder is near impossible in this country,” one netizen said. “A graduate of Seoul National University receives 4 million won a month while a slow student with a father who has several buildings earns 10 million won, has a good car and house. Can efforts change that?” said another. “All I want is to work five days a week, arrive home at 6 p.m. and have dinner with my wife and child,” a third said.