The Quality of Korean Life in Camparative Perspective: Objective Quality of Life in Korea and the OECD Countries

Abstract

This study attempts to compare the current state of Korea's quality of life with that of more developed countries in their past, and seeks to derive suggestions for Korea's further development towards a more balanced quality of life. To this end, it analyzes income and five other objective indices of life quality by means of principal components analysis. Korea's real income in 1995 corresponds to the per capita income of many of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (hereinafter the OECD) countries in the late 1960s. Education is the aspect of life in which Korea compares most favorably to the developed countries, approaching the level they experienced in the mid-1980s. In terms of Equity and Work, Korea's current state is much worse than that of the OECD countries in the late 1960s – the years marking the beginning of the time series data used in this study. In light of the OECD countries' past experiences, our analysis clearly indicates that improvements in work conditions and gender equality should be given priority for Korea's further social and economic development.