[Column] Quality of Life in Korea Lower Than South Africa

Reporter Eunbyeol Kim

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] The global statistics site 'Numbeo' recently released the mid-term evaluation results of this year's 'Quality of Life Index' for various countries. South Korea's quality of life index was 124.73, ranking 45th out of 83 countries evaluated. Compared to 21st place five years ago in 2016, South Korea's global quality of life ranking has dropped by more than twenty spots. According to this year's results, South Korea's quality of life is even lower than that of South Africa (39th) and Puerto Rico (41st). The country with the highest quality of life was Switzerland.

Of course, Numbeo's results are not official statistics and reflect a significant degree of respondents' subjectivity. Numbeo is considered to have the largest cost of living database in the world, but since the data is based on user inputs from various countries, there is a considerable possibility of subjective interpretation by users.

Numbeo's statistics are compiled by site users selecting the city they live in and answering detailed questions about dining costs such as McDonald's prices and beverage prices, grocery prices by item, monthly rent, housing prices per square meter, salaries, and so on. Numbeo then collects this data over a certain period and publishes the results.

However, it is clear from Numbeo's statistics, which have maintained consistent criteria, that South Korea's quality of life is steadily declining.

Looking at the price-to-income ratio (PIR) compiled by Numbeo, which is 26.08, it would take 26 years of saving all income without spending a single penny to buy a house in South Korea. This is an increase of 9 years compared to last year (PIR 17.37). South Korea's cost of living ranking rose from 22nd to 18th over the past five years, and its pollution index increased from 65th to 58th. The satisfaction index considering commuting time and transportation means was also low at 38th.

Of course, if you ask whether the Korean people truly believe their quality of life is lower than that of South Africa or Puerto Rico, few would agree. It is also rare to find people migrating to these countries in search of a better quality of life. However, it is not something to dismiss simply by labeling the survey results as 'subjective.' After all, the survey was conducted among Korean citizens, and the results reflect the life they perceive.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.