hankyoreh

On July 31

Children’s happiness and quality of life depend on where they live and are closely related to the fiscal conditions of their administrative region, a new study finds. Children in big cities, which tend to have bigger budgets, have a higher quality of life and are happier, according to this analysis.

These findings appeared in a report titled the “2016 Study of Comprehensive Indicators for the Quality of Life of South Korean Children,” which was published on Aug. 7 by the Institute of Social Welfare at Seoul National University and Save the Children, an international NGO. The two organizations have been researching the quality of life of South Korean children since 2012.

The report found that, in the category of subjective happiness, children in large cities scored more highly than children in mid-sized cities, towns and rural areas. Subjective happiness was one of eight categories that were surveyed, along with health, personal relationships, material circumstances, danger and safety, education, residential environment, and desirable character.

A total of 8,685 children between the third grade of elementary school and the first grade of middle school were included in the survey.

The study ranked South Korea’s 16 administrative regions as follows: Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Incheon, Gwangju, Jeju Island, Daejeon, Seoul, Gangwon Province, Gyeonggi Province, South Gyeongsang Province, North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province, South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province.

Similar trends were seen in the 2013 and 2014 versions of the survey. The top-ranked administrative regions in 2014 were Daegu, North Chungcheong Province, Daejeon, Busan, Incheon, Seoul and Ulsan, with six of the top seven (except for North Chungcheong Province) being metropolitan cities. The top-ranked regions in the 2013 survey were North Chungcheong Province, Busan, Incheon, Daejeon, Seoul, Daegu and Ulsan, with six of the top seven being metropolitan cities.

The category of subjective happiness is a concept that covers overall happiness, including not only children’s satisfaction with their family, school and local community but also satisfaction with their own perception of themselves.

“Among the various indicators for children’s quality of life, we have seen an overall increase in the category of subjective happiness from the seven-point range in 2013 to the eight-point range today, but there is still a disparity between large cities and other regions,” said Yu Jo-an, a professor of social welfare at Seoul National University.

The comprehensive indicators were found by surveying 8,685 children between the third grade of elementary school and the first grade of middle school in 46 indicators in eight categories (health, subjective happiness, personal relationships, material circumstances, danger and safety, education, residential environment, and desirable character).

The seven metropolitan cities at the top of the rankings recorded high scores across these eight categories. In contrast, South Korea’s provinces (which consist of mid-sized cities, towns and rural areas) received low scores in all eight categories.

When the single category of subjective happiness is viewed separately, the highest ranking areas were Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Daejeon, Incheon and Gwangju, which is similar to their overall quality of life ranking.

“While children’s quality of life also tended to be higher in metropolitan cities in the 2013 and 2014 studies, the disparity in quality of life between children in metropolitan cities and children in other areas was even more distinct in this year’s study,” said Lee Bong-ju, a professor of social welfare at Seoul National University who had been involved in this study for the past three years.

The regions that were at the bottom of this year‘s study - South Chungcheong Province, South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province - were also at the bottom in the 2013 and 2014 studies.

The authors of the study also found a close correlation between the various regions’ rank in the quality of life indicators and their rank in financial independence and in the percentage of their budget that goes to welfare. As of 2014, the top-ranking regions in terms of welfare spending were Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Seoul, and Incheon, which correlates with quality of life indicators.

“The fundamental solution to improving the regional disparity in children’s quality of life is reducing the fiscal disparity between regions and increasing their welfare budget,” Lee said.

The Hankyoreh decided to give kids a chance to share their opinions about the disparities addressed by this study. On July 31, four boys in the first year of middle school who live in Sanggwan Township, Wanju County, North Jeolla Province, met at a study cafe in the area. The four boys are all friends who attend the same local children’s center.

The four boys were divided into two teams to debate whether children are happier in urban areas or in rural areas. Moon Geon-il and Lee Hee-mang, who were arguing that city kids are happier, had the upper hand in the debate. Their argument was that kids in the cities are have more fun things to do.

Yu Da-ham: “I bet that kids who live in the countryside don’t go to private academies and that they have fun playing in the streams with their friends.”

Lee Seung-jun: “If you live in the countryside, you can probably run around in the fields.”

Moon Geon-il: “Do kids in the countryside really play in the stream when they’re bored? We live in the country, too, but we don’t play in the stream. When kids are bored, they usually play games on their computer or cell phone. Kids in the city have amusement parks nearby, and it’s easy for them to go there since there‘s convenient transportation. When the air quality is poor, they can turn on the air purifier at their house.”

Lee Hee-mang: “City kids probably have a lot of things to see around them, and they probably go to a lot of places.”

On the afternoon of the next day, a debate on the same topic took place between four teenagers in the second year of middle school. The teenagers, who had gotten to know each other while attending the same private academy, met at the office of Save the Children in Seoul.

Jeon Si-hyeon and Jeong Seong-won, who were arguing that children are happier in the countryside, took the lead in the first half of the debate.

Jeon Si-hyeon (male): “People typically go to rural areas when they want to relax or are seeking happiness. It’s like how people usually decide to go to the countryside on a family trip.”

Jeong Seong-won (male): “If you live in the city, I‘m sure you feel glad at first about going to good cram schools or a good high school, but true happiness is found in the relaxing lifestyle of a natural setting.”

But the other side soon had its say.

Wi Ji-oh (female): “A cousin my age who lives in the countryside comes to our house during vacation. She is surprised about the things we have in Seoul and talks about how they don’t have things like that where she lives. I think that satisfaction about where you live and confidence about where you live have an effect on your happiness.”

Kim Ye-rim (female): “A friend of mine who lives in the countryside comes to the city during the vacation and stays in a cramped room so that she can go to a private academy. On the weekend, her mom comes up and treats her to some beef to keep her spirits up. Since there are no good private academies in the countryside, my friends feel anxious and don‘t look happy. Kids who live in the city have more opportunities since they can go to several private academies.”

While the sides were well-matched, the debate ultimately ended in a victory for Wi and Kim.

By Kim Mee-hyang, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]