Does Effort Lead to Success?... Koreans' 'Empathy Rate 16%' Ranks Last Worldwide

Survey by King's College London
70% Believe "Success Requires Luck"

A global survey revealed that Koreans predominantly perceive that 'working hard does not guarantee success.'

According to the report "Worlds of Work" released on the 7th (local time) by the Policy Institute of King's College London, based on surveys conducted in major countries worldwide, only 16% of Korean respondents agreed with the statement "If you work hard, you will generally live better eventually."

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This is the lowest figure among 18 countries surveyed, at least 10 percentage points lower than other lower-ranking countries such as Canada (35%), Japan (29%), Germany (28%), and Greece (27%).

The country with the highest agreement was Egypt at 61%, followed by China (58%), the United States (55%), the Philippines and Iran (each 54%), and Indonesia (53%).

In the same context, the perception that luck is necessary for success was most prevalent among Koreans. Seventy percent of Koreans agreed with the idea that "work and luck are equally important for success," the highest among the 18 countries surveyed. This was followed by Japan (53%), Greece (51%), and Germany (50%).

However, Koreans tended to believe that luck has less influence on success than work itself. Only 14% agreed with the statement "Working hard does not generally lead to success, and success is more often a matter of luck and connections." This is significantly lower than the top-ranking countries such as Brazil (27%), Nigeria (26%), and Germany (22%).

The survey results were released as part of the broader World Values Survey (WVS), which has been conducting research since 1981 to understand the social, political, economic, religious, and cultural values of people worldwide.

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