The Quality of Life in Korea: Comparative and Dynamic Perspectives

Abstract

In recent years there has been a spurt in research efforts to compare the quality of life across a number of different countries and regions (Estes, 1998; Freedom House, 2001; Prescott-Allen, 2001; Tang, 2000; United Nations Development Programme, 2000; World Bank, 2000). In response to growing public interest and involvement in the globalization of human life, individual scholars and research institutions have attempted to assemble and analyze comparative data on the quality of citizens’ lives in various parts of the world (for a comprehensive review of these efforts, see Hagerty et al., 2001). As part of the rising global research movement for human betterment, this special volume of Social Indicators Research features the changing quality of life in South Korea (hereinafter Korea), a country known as one of the most politically influential and analytically interesting new democracies (Diamond and Shin, 2000).