Over 60% of Koreans consider their culture at the “level of a developed nation,” according to a survey.
Based on the results of this year’s poll on the public’s perceptions and values, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Dec. 19 said 65.9% of respondents called Korea a developed nation when it comes to culture.
Koreans expressed a lot of pride in their culture via the study, with 96.6% calling the nation’s pop culture “outstanding,” up 43% percentage points from 2008 and the highest level in the survey’s history.
In addition, 95.1% considered traditional Korean culture “outstanding,” 89.8% said they were “proud to be Korean” and 90.4% called the country “a good place to live,” thus showing an overall increase.
Among issues needing resolution, “jobs” (29%), “gap between rich and poor” (20%), and “real estate and housing” (18.8%) were deemed the most important.
On what future they hope for Korea, 43.4% said “an economically rich nation.”
Turning to growing immigration in the nation, 80.5% gave a positive response to “social perception of multicultural families” and 44.1% to “acceptance of refugees,” showing rising public acceptance of multiculturalism.
Debuting in 1996, the survey marked its eighth edition this year. Commissioned by the ministry, Gallup Korea conducted the latest poll on 5,100 adults ages 19-79.
Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism