By Choi Kyong-ae
Staff Reporter
South Korea ranked 49th on the world’s ``Happiness Scale,’’ its position on the happiness index being below the global average, according to a global survey Friday.


The latest World Values Survey asked people in 82 countries questions related to happiness or satisfaction in life. Singapore was the only Asian country to crack the top 25, which was mainly dominated by nations from Western Europe, South America and North America.
Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, came in 42nd; China and South Korea took 48th and 49th places, respectively, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Surprisingly, Puerto Rico topped the list followed by Mexico and Denmark. Indonesia came last right behind Russia. The survey was mainly based on the level of satisfaction in life. The United States was the 15th happiest country.

The survey showed a nation’s position on the happiness scale apparently has little to do with economic power.

Asked why typically Asians are less happy, Ruut Veenhoven, a sociologist at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, told the Wall Street Journal, “Asian societies are caught in a ‘cultural lag’ with their collectivistic past.’’

``Unlike in Western countries, in developing Asia the group is still more important than the individual. The mode of production has changed, but not yet the culture. If you read the sociology of Western Europe a century ago, it was the same,’’ he said.

Others argue Asians see happiness differently from Westerners. To them, happiness best describes the quest to bridge the gap between reality and an idealized world, rather than how an individual feels at any given moment.

The Sweden-based WVS conducts the poll every four year to measure to what extent people are satisfied with their lives which include partners, jobs, housings and friends.

The survey rankings were compiled by teams of researchers around the world and coordinated by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan in the United States.

While there is no black and white answer to relative happiness in different cultures, researchers have found some similarities in the satisfaction in relationships.

``Research around the world shows that married people or [cohabitating] people are much happier. Yet there’s hardly any relationship between income and happiness, Veenhoven said. ``So, rather than worry so much about your work, worry more about your wife.

godamon@koreatimes.co.kr

12-10-2004 15:58