Koreans less satisfied with lives, more socially isolated due to political polarization, financial hardship

Koreans are growing less satisfied with their lives and more socially isolated as political polarization and financial hardship deepen across the country, according to recent government data.

While the public largely agreed on the need for expanded social welfare measures, it was split on the matter of higher personal contribution s to finance them.

The findings were based on a government-commissioned survey conducted by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in December of last year. It polled 2,500 people aged 19 to 75 through online and in-person interviews to help guide the Lee Jae Myung administration’s social security policy agenda.

Respondents reported lower life satisfaction and a greater sense of social isolation compared to results from the previous survey done in 2022. Overall life satisfaction averaged 6 out of 10 — 0.5 points down from 6.5 in the 2022 survey. The share of participants who indicated that they were satisfied with their lives also sharply fell from 75.9 percent to 63.4 percent over that time period.

Satisfaction with living standards, a key indicator of economic well-being, dropped from an average of 6.6 in 2022 to 5.7, with financial hardship being the most commonly cited concern at 50.4 percent.

Additionally, 40.9 percent of respondents agreed that they felt isolated from others. On a numerical scale, the average isolation score per individual landed at 4.7. 

The results were slightly worse compared to those of 2022, when 40.4 percent of participants reported feeling isolated, and the average isolation score was 4.4.

By age group, adults aged 19 to 34 reported the highest level of isolation at 47.3 percent. Among household types, single-person households held the highest rate at 45.5 percent.

Respondents also expressed their concern about broader social tensions, with around 40 percent saying that conflicts over wealth inequality, labor-management relations and generational divides were severe.

The deepest fault line, however, was ideological conflict.

About 65 percent of the participants said that tensions between liberals and conservatives were serious, more than 10 times the share of those who answered the opposite.

According to researchers, the political turmoil that has gripped the country since late 2024 — following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched declaration of martial law and his impeachment — likely contributed to the result.

“The findings suggest that the foundations of social integration may have weakened,” the institute said.

Slightly less than half of respondents, 49.5 percent, identified Korea as a welfare state, compared to 10.9 percent who disagreed and 39.6 percent who remained neutral.

“The country is developing an identity as a welfare state, but that identity is not yet firmly established,” the researchers said.

Calls for broader social security programs also grew louder from 2022 to 2025, with people seeking extensive social support to ease feelings of isolation and improve caregiving-related aid beyond basic income assistance.

A total of 76.9 percent of participants backed broader welfare policies, while 23.1 percent opposed them. Infants and children were identified as the top targets for expanded social security support at 37.4 percent, followed closely by young adults at 34 percent.

Opinion became more divided, however, when respondents were asked whether they would accept higher personal costs to finance expanded welfare programs.

Support and opposition were nearly even at 52.8 percent and 47.2 percent, respectively.

Asked how additional funding should be secured, 73.4 percent favored higher fees for social services users. Raising social insurance premiums and taxes drew lower support at 47.1 percent each, suggesting respondents preferred placing more of the burden on direct beneficiaries rather than implementing broad-based tax increases.

“The public strongly supports expanding social security but is more conditional when it comes to sharing the financial burden,” the researchers said. “There is a need to build a broader social consensus on how to fund social welfare programs.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JUNG JONG-HOON [[email protected]]