Who is happy in Korea, and when? Age, gender, education and income explained little; personality, beliefs about happiness, and doing things one wants to do and finds meaningful explained far more.
Happiness in Korea: Who is Happy and When?
한국인, 누가 언제 행복한가?
QUESTION
By identifying the personal characteristics and situational contexts linked to happiness, who is happy in Korean society, and when?
FINDINGS
Personality and a positive view of happiness predicted 18% of people's looking-back judgments of happiness, and more than 40% of in-the-moment happiness was explained by intrinsic motivation and a sense of meaning.
성격 특성과 행복에 대한 긍정적 관점은 회고적 행복 판단을 18% 예측했으며, 실시간적 행복 경험의 경우 40% 이상이 내적 동기와 의미감에 의해 설명되었다Personality traits and a positive view of happiness predicted 18% of retrospective happiness judgments, and over 40% of real-time happiness experience was explained by intrinsic motivation and a sense of meaning.p1Happiness did not differ by age, gender, marriage, religion, education or occupation; all demographic factors together, income included, explained just 3% of differences in happiness.
소득을 포함한 모든 인구학적 변인은 행복의 개인차를 단지 3%만 설명했다All demographic variables, including income, explained only 3% of individual differences in happiness.p1개인이 경험하는 행복 수준은 연령, 성별, 결혼여부, 종교, 학력 및 직업에 따라 차이가 없었고Individuals' happiness did not differ by age, gender, marital status, religion, education, or occupation…p1For income, how rich people felt mattered more for happiness than what they actually earned.
행복은 객관적 소득보다는 주관적 소득과 더 높은 상관관계가 있었다Happiness was more highly correlated with subjective income than with objective income.p10주관적 소득(스스로 고소득자라고 생각하는 정도)subjective income (the degree to which one thinks oneself a high earner)p10The authors see Koreans' heavy investment of energy in school pedigree, jobs and material goods as an inefficient investment from the standpoint of happiness.
행복의 관점에서 볼 때 비효율적인 투자인 셈이다From the standpoint of happiness, it is in effect an inefficient investment.p19일생동안 상당량의 에너지를 학벌, 직업, 물질 취득을 위해 투자한다…invest a great deal of energy over their lifetimes in academic credentials, occupations, and acquiring material goods.p19IN DAILY LIFE
In a 2010 survey of Seoul residents, 40.5% said money is needed to be happy.
2010년 서울시민 1,024명에 대한 조사에서 응답자의 40.5%는 행복을 위해서 돈이 필요하다고 응답했으며In a 2010 survey of 1,024 Seoul citizens, 40.5% of respondents answered that money is needed for happiness…p2Although people were happier with family or friends, 40% answered that they were alone when asked who they were with.
현재 함께 있는 사람에 대한 질문에는 응답자의 40%가 혼자 있다고 답했다…to the question about who they were with at that moment, 40% of respondents said they were alone.p19사람들이 높은 행복감을 느끼는 상황은 가족이나 친구와 함께 있는 사회적 상황이었음에도 불구하고Although the situations in which people felt high happiness were social situations with family or friends…p19In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
Researchers hold that outward conditions such as age, gender and income have little effect on happiness, yet Koreans seem to strongly believe happiness depends on such conditions.
한국인들은 여전히 행복이 삶의 외적 조건에 따라 결정될 수 있다는 강한 신념을 갖고 있는 것처럼 보인다Koreans still seem to hold a strong belief that happiness can be determined by the external conditions of life.p2이러한 연구들의 공통된 견해는 외적 인구학적 변인들이 행복에 미치는 영향은 매우 미약하다는 점이다The common view of these studies is that external demographic variables have a very weak effect on happiness.p2Because the factors tied to happiness can differ by culture, findings built up abroad needed to be re-checked in Korean society.
이를 한국 사회에서 재검증할 필요가 있음을 시사한다…suggests the need to re-examine this in Korean society.p2관련된 요인들이 문화마다 상이하기 때문이다…because the factors related [to happiness] differ across cultures.p2Method
Two studies. The first was a nationwide survey in which people evaluated their own happiness looking back; the second was an experience-sampling study measuring happiness in the moment during daily life.
현재 정서 상태, 함께 있는 사람, 하고 있는 일, 그 일을 하고 싶은 정도와 의미를 느끼는 정도를 총 6회에 걸쳐 측정했다Current emotional state, the people present, the activity, and how much they wanted to do it and how meaningful they found it were measured six times in total.p14만19세 이상 성인남녀 총 1,000명을 대상으로 연구를 실시했다The study was conducted with a total of 1,000 adult men and women aged 19 or older.p5제주도를 제외한 전국에서 지역별, 연령별, 성별 인구비례 할당 표집 방식으로…by quota sampling proportional to population by region, age, and gender nationwide excluding Jeju…p5각 집단별 40명씩 총 160명을 연구 대상으로 하였다40 per group, 160 in total, were the participants.p13이에 연구2에서는 일상생활 속에서 느끼는 행복Therefore Study 2 [examined] the happiness felt in daily life…p13주중(월 또는 목요일)과 주말(토 또는 일요일) 이틀 동안 하루에 3회씩 오전(10-12시), 오후(12-17시), 저녁(17-21시) 시간에…over two days, a weekday (Mon or Thu) and a weekend day (Sat or Sun), three times a day in the morning (10–12), afternoon (12–17), and evening (17–21)…p14Detailed findings
Overall happiness did not differ by age, but people in their twenties felt strong negative emotions such as irritation more often than every other age group.
다른 모든 연령층보다 고각성 부정적 정서(짜증)를 더 자주 경험하고 있었다…experienced high-arousal negative emotion (irritation) more often than all other age groups.p5전체 행복 점수는 연령에 따라 유의미한 차이가 없었다Overall happiness scores did not differ significantly by age.p520대 청년들은 60대 이상 노인들보다Young people in their 20s, compared with those aged 60 and over…p5Women felt 'joyful' and 'happy' more often than men, but gender explained less than 1% of this.
여성이 남성보다 고각성 긍정적 정서(‘즐거운’)와 중간각성 긍정 정서(‘행복한’)를 더 자주 경험했다Women experienced high-arousal positive emotion ('joyful') and mid-arousal positive emotion ('happy') more often than men.p7긍정적 정서 경험에 대한 성별의 영향력은 1% 미만에 불과했다The effect of gender on positive emotional experience was under 1%.p7Married and unmarried people in their thirties did not differ in happiness.
30대 미혼자와 기혼자간에는 전체 행복 점수 및 모든 행복의 하위 문항에서 유의미한 차이가 없었다There were no significant differences between unmarried and married people in their thirties in overall happiness or any happiness sub-item.p8People with a religion felt 'relaxed' a little more often, but did not differ on any other happiness item.
종교가 있는 사람(N=542)은 무교인 사람(N=457)에 비해서 편안한 정서를 더 자주 느끼는 것으로 나타났다People with a religion (N=542) were found to feel relaxed more often than those without (N=457).p8그 밖의 모든 문항들은 종교 유무에 따라 차이가 없었다All other items did not differ by whether one had a religion.p8Personality and beliefs about happiness predicted happiness in every group, regardless of age, gender or income level.
성격(외향성, 신경증)과 행복관은 모든 연령, 성별, 소득 수준 집단에서 전체 행복 점수를 유의미하게 예측했다Personality (extraversion, neuroticism) and beliefs about happiness significantly predicted overall happiness in all age, gender, and income groups.p12Across the day, weekday mornings were least happy and weekend evenings most happy. Office workers and students were very low on weekday daytime and rose in the evening and on weekends, while older adults stayed high throughout.
노인들은 시간의 흐름에 무관하게 지속적으로 높은 행복감을 경험하고 있었다Older adults consistently experienced high happiness regardless of the time of day.p15주중 오전(M=5.24)의 행복감이 가장 낮았고, 주말 저녁 시간대(M=9.18)에 경험하는 행복감이 가장 높았다Happiness was lowest on weekday mornings (M=5.24) and highest on weekend evenings (M=9.18).p15직장인과 대학생이 느끼는 행복감은 평일 오전과 오후에 매우 낮다가 평일 저녁과 주말이 되면 차츰 높아졌다Office workers' and students' happiness was very low on weekday mornings and afternoons, then gradually rose on weekday evenings and weekends.p15Office workers were least happy with friends or coworkers and happiest with family.
직장인의 행복감은 친구/동료와 있을 때 가장 낮았고 가족과 함께 있을 때 가장 높았다Office workers' happiness was lowest when with friends/coworkers and highest when with family.p16In every group, the more people wanted to do what they were doing and found it meaningful, the happier they were.
사람들은 내적 동기와 의미감이 높은 활동을 할 때 행복감을 경험하는 것으로 나타났다People were found to experience happiness when doing activities high in intrinsic motivation and meaning.p17현재 하고 있는 일을 하고 싶은 정도와 하고 있는 일에 의미를 느끼는 정도는 모든 집단에서 행복감과 높은 정적 상관이 있었다How much people wanted to do their current activity and how meaningful they found it were highly positively correlated with happiness in all groups.p17Authors’ interpretation
Without knowing anything about a person's age, gender, education or income, knowing their motivation and sense of meaning in what they are doing lets you predict fairly well how happy they are right now.
하고 있는 일에 대한 동기와 의미감을 아는 것만으로 그 사람이 현재 얼마나 행복한지 어느 정도 예측 할 수 있음을 의미한다This means one can predict to some extent how happy a person is right now just by knowing their motivation and sense of meaning in what they are doing.p18한 개인의 연령, 성별, 학력, 소득 등에 대한 어떠한 정보 없이…without any information about a person's age, gender, education, income, etc.…p18In pursuit of socioeconomic status, things truly important to happiness — autonomy, intrinsic motivation, meaning — can easily be given up.
객관적인 사회 기준에 초점을 둘 때 개인의 자율성이나 내적 동기, 의미감은 무시되기 쉽다When focusing on objective social standards, personal autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and meaning are easily neglected.p19이러한 사회경제적 지위 획득을 위해서 실질적으로 행복에 중요한 많은 것들이 쉽게 포기될 수 있다는 점이다…that many things truly important for happiness can easily be given up to attain such socioeconomic status.p19This does not mean economic conditions are irrelevant: basic needs like food, clothing and shelter must be met, and basic living conditions must be secured for low-income people and older adults.
저소득 계층과 노인에 대해서는 기본 생존을 위한 물질적, 환경적 여건이 조성되어야 할 것이다For low-income groups and older adults, material and environmental conditions for basic survival should be secured.p19객관적 환경과 경제 수준이 행복과 절대적으로 무관하다는 것을 의미하지는 않는다…does not mean that the objective environment and economic level are absolutely unrelated to happiness.p19의, 식, 주와 같은 기본 욕구의 충족이 필수적이며…satisfying basic needs such as clothing, food, and shelter is essential…p19Limits the authors note
As a cross-sectional study, its results should not be read as cause and effect — it is unclear whether higher income makes people happier or happier people earn more.
본 연구의 결과는 인과관계로 해석되어서도 안될 것이다The results of this study should not be interpreted as causal relationships.p20본 연구는 횡단적 방법으로 진행되었기 때문에, 결과 해석에 세심한 주의가 요구된다Because this study was cross-sectional, careful interpretation of the results is required.p20이들이 높은 경제 수준으로 인해 행복한 것인지 아니면 행복한 사람들이 더 높은 소득을 얻는 것인지에 대해서는 단정하기 어렵다…it is hard to say whether they are happy because of their higher economic level or whether happy people earn more.p20Experience sampling did not cover the hours before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m., and was limited to four groups.
오전 10시 이전과 오후 9시 이후의 시간을 포함하지 못했으며…could not include the hours before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m.…p20연구 대상도 대학(원)생, 직장인, 전업주부, 노인으로 제한되었다…and participants were also limited to college/graduate students, office workers, full-time homemakers, and older adults.p20Key terms
Experience sampling method Instead of asking people to recall and rate the past, it measures emotional experience in the moment, leaving little room for memory errors.
경험표집법(Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987)은 실시간적 정서 경험을 측정하기 때문에 기억의 문제가 개입될 여지가 적다The experience sampling method (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987) measures real-time emotional experience, so there is little room for memory problems to intervene.p4회고적 방법으로 기억의 오류를 완전히 제거했다고 보기 어렵다…as a retrospective method, it can hardly be seen as fully eliminating memory errors.p4Active leisure / passive leisure Active leisure takes relatively high physical and mental energy (exercise, walks); passive leisure does not (watching TV, using the internet).
‘적극적 여가’는 비교적 높은 수준의 신체적, 심리적 에너지를 요하는 여가 활동을 의미하고'Active leisure' refers to leisure activities requiring relatively high physical and psychological energy…p14‘소극적 여가’는 그에 비해 신체 및 심리적 에너지를 요하지 않는 여가 활동을 의미한다‘Passive leisure’ means leisure activities that, by comparison, do not require physical and psychological energy.p14‘적극적 여가’에 포함된 활동은 운동, 산책, 취미활동Activities included in ‘active leisure’ were exercise, walks, hobbies…p14‘소극적 여가’에는 TV/비디오 보기, 인터넷/컴퓨터‘Passive leisure’ included watching TV/videos, internet/computer…p14