Koreans' life satisfaction deteriorating

3 in 10 people think having kids unnecessary: survey

By Lee Kyung-min

The happiness level among Koreans has seemingly been decreasing as fewer were satisfied with their lives in 2019, while more were feeling a sense of isolation, according to a recent survey.

In the poll of 8,000 people aged 19 to 69 between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 in 2019, Statistics Korea found that 60.7 percent were satisfied with their lives, down 3 percentage points from the previous year.

This broke down to 62 percent of women and 59.5 percent of men.

The survey was conducted jointly with the Korea Institute of Public Administration and the National Police Agency (NPA).

Only 41 percent of people earning less than 1 million won per month said they were satisfied with their lives, a sharp contrast to 67 percent of those earning over 6 million won.

Around two-thirds, or 63.9 percent, said their work was valuable, down 4 percentage points from a year earlier.

The survey also showed that about a fifth, or 20.5 percent, felt lonely, up 4.5 percentage points. Those who felt like nobody knew them well came to 16.7 percent, up 5.4 percentage points.

This was felt more by low-income earners.

Over two-fifths, or 43.1 percent, of people whose monthly income was less than 1 million won ($826) said they felt lonely, while the same response was given by 33.9 percent of those earning between 1 million won and 2 million won, followed by 28.5 percent earning between 2 million won and 3 million won.

Some 16.1 percent of top earners making over 6 million won a month said they felt lonely.

Over a quarter, or 28.6 percent, of those earning less than 1 million won said they felt like nobody knew them well, whereas the same response was given by only 14.7 percent of those earning over 6 million won.

By gender, women felt lonelier than men, with the figures standing at 21.5 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively.

About one in three said having a child was unnecessary, a statement more agreed with by the highly educated.

The data collected by the NPA showed the number of crimes per 100,000 decreased to 3,368 in 2019, down 185 from a year earlier. This is down 24.5 percent from 4,463 a decade ago.

The statistics agency forecast the country's population to peak at around 52 million in 2028 before beginning to decline. It expects the country's population to drop to as low as 39.3 million in 2067. It stood at around 51.7 million at the end of 2019.