Busan with Balanced Work-Life, Also Tops Citizen Happiness Index!

'2021 Regional Work-Life Balance Index' 1st Place

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City recently achieved the highest performance in a nationwide evaluation related to citizens' lives conducted by government agencies.

This is particularly noteworthy as Busan produced positive results in national urban indicators despite difficult internal and external conditions.

On the 11th, the city ranked first nationwide with a total score of 64.1 points in the ‘2021 Regional Work-Life Balance Index’ announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (Minister Lee Jeong-sik).

Busan City Hall.

Also, on the 28th of last month, Busan scored 7.19 out of 10 in the citizen happiness index in the ‘2022 Major Results and Recent 3-Year Trends of the Korean Happiness Survey’ report released by the National Assembly Futures Institute, ranking first among the seven metropolitan cities and special cities.

In particular, while the citizen happiness-related index has been declining nationwide, Busan has steadily increased.

The national average score fell annually from 6.83 in 2020 to 6.56 in 2021 and 6.53 in 2022, but Busan steadily rose from 6.85 to 7.09 and 7.19 during the same period.

Both the Work & Life Balance and happiness indices are indicators directly related to citizens' lives and serve as measures of a ‘livable city.’ In fact, meaningful achievements were confirmed by compiling the opinions of citizens currently living in Busan.

According to the ‘2021 Basic Analysis Report of the Korean Happiness Survey’ released by the National Assembly Futures Institute, positive emotions such as ‘joy (6.91)’, ‘happiness (6.88)’, and ‘life satisfaction (6.58)’ among Busan citizens ranked first among the seven metropolitan and special cities, and the top-ranked work-life balance also positively influenced happiness.

Recent 3-Year Nationwide Comprehensive Happiness Trend.

Busan ranked at the top in all categories including ‘sense of personal life safety (1st)’, ‘time available for things one likes (2nd)’, and ‘job satisfaction (1st).’

Perceptions of overall environmental indicators such as ‘social safety,’ ‘urban environment,’ and ‘social integration’ also improved. According to the ‘2022 Busan Social Survey’ released last month, social stress after the pandemic has eased, and feelings of safety, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with social welfare services have all increased.

Compared to two years ago, stress due to economic problems has eased by 4.5 percentage points, showing that Busan’s economy has somewhat escaped the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Overall perceived safety increased by 7.9 percentage points, and satisfaction with social welfare services rose by 3.3 percentage points for childbirth and childcare and 2.9 percentage points for vulnerable groups.

Along with steadily improving citizen life-related indicators, Busan City’s institutional support is also analyzed to have driven the rise in these indicators.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ‘Regional Work-Life Balance Index’ showed that local governments’ interest in realizing work-life balance was the highest nationwide.

The city established a ‘Work-Family Balance Team’ within the main office, operated the ‘Work-Life Balance Support Center,’ and enacted ordinances supporting work-life balance, thereby organizing and systematizing efforts.

By operating the ‘Busan Regional Work-Life Balance Promotion Group,’ the city built a work-life balance network with administrative agencies, labor sectors, and industries. Through this, a work-life balance culture suited to local circumstances is being spread across various sectors.

Starting this year, the city plans to prepare more diverse programs and projects to create ‘a city of citizen happiness’ and ‘Busan, a city where people want to live again,’ which are the city’s urban goals and slogans.

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, said, “While receiving good evaluations in recent global smart indices, international financial city indices, and city brand reputation, I am pleased that good results continue in areas directly related to citizens’ lives. Based on these survey results, we will supplement any shortcomings and strive harder to make Busan a city where all citizens can feel happiness in their daily lives and achieve harmony between work and life.”

He also emphasized, “We will expand the city brand value of ‘Busan, a city where people want to be born and live again’ by preparing policies and systems that citizens can feel.”

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