S. Korea ranked 117th in global well-being index: Gallup

July 1, 2015
Seoul, South Korea (Courtesy of Travel Oriented via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Seoul, South Korea (Courtesy of Travel Oriented via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Lately South Korea has been establishing itself as both a economic and cultural force around the world, but the country’s outward success isn’t equating to happiness to those that live within its borders.

South Korea ranked 117th among 154 countries in a global well-being survey conducted by the Gallup research group.

Panama, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico topped the list in that order, while the U.S., Japan and China came in 23rd, 92nd and 127th, respectively.

The survey was based on five categories according to the survey:

  • Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
  • Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

South Korea ranked 53rd in “Financial” well-being, but was out of the top 100 in the remaining categories.

Its position fell 42 places since the survey was last taken in 2013.

2 Comments

  1. Keith Kim

    July 2, 2015 at 6:22 AM

    Obviously, the people are not happy.

  2. Jong-un Kim

    July 2, 2015 at 2:42 PM

    Haha! Everyone in North Korea is happy! Come see what heaven looks like!