Survey shows 98 percent of Koreans giving up hope

Posted on : 2012-08-22 11:59 KST Modified on : 2012-08-22 11:59 KST
Respondents show pessimism over class mobility, economic future

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

Ninety-eight of every 100 South Koreans believe class mobility will be tougher in the future, a survey shows.

Pessimism was evident among young people. 96.3% of respondents in their twenties, who are at the age when they are beginning their careers, took a dim view of the prospects for moving up. Experts said this reflects an environment of increasingly entrenched polarization, where the ladder has been pulled away, creating a closed society and sacrificing dynamism.

The survey, conducted by the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI), polled 1,011 adults on Aug. 19. 98.1% of respondents agreed that, “advancing to the middle or high-income class is going to be more difficult in this country in the future.”

People in their forties were most pessimistic, with 98.9% agreeing with the statement. Respondents in their twenties also appeared unhopeful of class advancement, with 96.3% of them concurring.

Polarization was the most frequently cited reason for pessimism, given by 36.3% of respondents. Next were “economic recession,” “a lack of good jobs,” and “excessive debt,” given by 21.5%, 12.1%, and 11.4%, respectively. “Lack of good jobs” was the most frequently given reason among those in their twenties, while “polarization” and “excessive debt” were the main reasons for those in their thirties and forties.

HRI senior research fellow Kim Dong-yul said, “This kind of pessimism about class mobility is a huge loss for society,” he said.

The findings also showed a trend toward austerity at the level of individual households since the global financial crisis. Some 29.3% of respondents said they had canceled their installment savings programs or insurance, while 60.6% said they were cutting back on eating out. Another 48% were adopting thrift tactics like coupons and “mileage points.”

The results uncovered some startling contrasts with poll findings from 1998, when the country was deep in a foreign exchange crisis. The percentage declaring plans to move to a smaller or cheaper house stood at 25.6%, more than two times the 9.2% who gave the answer in 1998. Another 12.2% said they were considering moving to a farming community, up from 8.7%.

Respondents were fairly bleak in their assessments of their own financial situations. Government statistics put the percentage of the population in the middle class at 64% of households, but only 46.4% of respondents in the survey said they considered themselves members. Slightly over half (50.1%) said they saw themselves as low-income, while just 1.9% described themselves as high-income.

 

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