By asking Koreans when they actually felt happy, the study found that intense happiness comes from achievement, while frequent, everyday happiness comes from family and friends.
Happiness and Subjective Well-Being among Korean Students and Adults: Indigenous Psychological Analysis
한국인의 행복 경험에 대한 토착문화심리학적 접근
QUESTION
What life experiences lead Koreans to judge themselves happy, what emotions do those experiences bring, and what does happiness consist of when grounded in real experience?
FINDINGS
The most intense happiness and unhappiness came from achievement and failure, while frequent happiness came from relationships with family and friends.
강한 행복이나 불행을 유발하는 경험은 성취와 실패 경험이었고, 빈번한 행복 유발 경험은 가족이나 친구와의 사회적 관계경험이있다Experiences that cause intense happiness or unhappiness were achievement and failure, while experiences that frequently cause happiness were social relationships with family or friends.p1Intense positive emotions were a sense of achievement and pride, but the positive emotions felt most often were relational ones such as comfort and a sense of bonding.
강한 긍정적 정서는 성취감이나 자부심이었지만, 빈번하게 경험되는 긍정적 정서는 편안함이나 유대감과 같은 긍정적인 관계정서들이었다Intense positive emotions were a sense of achievement or pride, but frequently experienced positive emotions were positive relational emotions such as comfort and bonding.p1Intense negative emotions were despair and sadness, but the negative emotions felt most often were relational ones — feeling let down (seopseophada, 섭섭하다), sorry, or ashamed — along with anxiety.
강한 부정적 정서는 절망과 슬픔이었지만, 빈번하게 경험되는 부정적 정서는 섭섭함, 미안함, 수치심과 같은 부정적인 관계정서와 불안이었다Intense negative emotions were despair and sadness, but frequently experienced negative emotions were negative relational emotions such as feeling let down, sorry, and ashamed, plus anxiety.p1Which relationships matter differs by generation: for university students it was friends; for adults, relationships with their children or spouse mattered more.
대학생에게 중요한 관계의 대상은 친구였지만, 성인들에게는 가족 관계 즉, 자녀 혹은 배우자와의 긍정적인 관계가 더욱 중요했다For university students the important relationship partners were friends, but for adults, family relationships — positive relationships with children or a spouse — were more important.p17IN DAILY LIFE
The well-being boom grew so large that the National Institute of Korean Language coined a Korean word, chamsari (참살이), to replace the borrowed word "well-being."
국립국어원에서 웰빙을 대체할 '참살이'라는 우리말을 만들어야 할 정도로…to the point that the National Institute of Korean Language had to create the Korean word chamsari (참살이) to replace "well-being."p2웰빙주의가 사회적으로 확산되어, 이제는 국립 국어원에서…well-being-ism spread socially, so that now the National Institute of Korean Language…p2In one Korean survey, many people pictured a "well-being person" as someone who goes to the gym and doesn't hesitate to buy organic food.
웰빙한 사람을 건강을 위해 헬스클럽에 다니고 유기농 식품을 사먹는데 주저하지 않는 사람이라고 생각했으며…thought of a well-being person as someone who goes to a health club for their health and does not hesitate to buy organic food…p2실제 국내에서 실시된 한 조사에서 다수의 응답자가In fact, in a survey conducted in Korea, most respondents…p2In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
For a long time Koreans seemed not to fuss much over "happiness," and rarely used the word openly in everyday talk.
오랜 세월동안 한국 사람들은 ,행복,에 크게 연연해하지 않는 듯 보였고, 행복이라는 용어를 일상적 담론 속에서 공공연하게 사용하지 않았다For a long time, Koreans seemed not to be very concerned with "happiness" and did not openly use the word in everyday discourse.p2Earlier studies only asked about surface-level beliefs ("What makes you happy?") and never checked whether people actually experience happiness through those things.
사람들의 피상적인 인식 수준을 다루었을 뿐, 그들이 실제로 그러한 요소를 통해서 행복을 경험하는지의 여부는 검토하지 못했디…dealt only with people's superficial level of perception, and did not examine whether they actually experience happiness through such factors.p2'무엇이 당신을 행복하게 하는가', '어떤 사람이 행복한 사람인가'…'What makes you happy?', 'What kind of person is happy?'…p2Method
Participants freely described happy and unhappy experiences and their feelings in an open-ended questionnaire; three graduate students independently grouped similar answers into categories, and frequencies were analyzed.
서울 소재 대학생 209명(남자 85명, 여자 124명)과 성인 280명(남자 138명, 여자 142명)209 university students in Seoul (85 men, 124 women) and 280 adults (138 men, 142 women)…p5개방형 질문지를 사용하여 자신이 살아오면 서 겪었던 행복했던 경험과 불행했던 경험을 기술하도록 하였다Using an open-ended questionnaire, participants described happy and unhappy experiences they had had in their lives.p63명의 심리학과 대학원생 들이 독립적으로 유사한 내용끼리 범주화하였 다…three psychology graduate students independently categorized similar content together.p6응답 내용에 대한 빈도분석과 세대별 성별 차이에 대한 카이자승 검증을 실시했다Frequency analysis of responses and chi-square tests of generation and gender differences were conducted.p6'살아오면서 가 장 행복했던 상황(강한 행복 경험)', '생활하면 서 자주 경험하는 행복한 상황(빈번한 행복 경 험)''the happiest situation in your life (intense happy experience)', 'a happy situation you often experience (frequent happy experience)'p6'살아오면서 가장 불행했던 상황(강한 불 행 경험)', 그리고 '생활하면서 자주 경험하는 불행한 상황(빈번한 불행 경험)''the unhappiest situation in your life (intense unhappy experience)', and 'an unhappy situation you often experience (frequent unhappy experience)'p6각 상황에서 응답자의 정서가 어 떠했는지를 적도록 하여…had respondents write down what their emotions were in each situation…p6가장 행복한 삶을 100점으로 보았을 때 자신의 삶이 어느 정도 행복한가를 점수로 기록하게 하였다…had them record, taking the happiest life as 100 points, how happy their own life was.p6행 복 지수는 개방형 질문에 대한 응답보다 먼저 적도록 하여…the happiness score was written before answering the open-ended questions…p6Detailed findings
Among students, the most common happiest moment (41.1%) was achieving a personal wish or goal, such as academic success.
개인적 소방이나 목표를 성취를 했을 때, 가장 행복했다는 응답이 41.1%로 가장 많았다The most common answer, at 41.1%, was that they were happiest when they achieved a personal wish or goal.p6대학생들은 학업성취를 포함한 ,개인적 소방이나…university students, [when they achieved] personal wishes, including academic achievement…p6For adults, the main source of intense happiness was their children — their birth, watching them grow, and their achievements.
성인들에게 강한 행복을 주는 원천은 자녀인 것으로 나타났다For adults, the source of intense happiness turned out to be their children.p6자녀를 출산했을 때 혹은 자녀가 성 장하는 모습을 바라볼 때', 그리고 '자녀의 성 취를 지켜볼 때'…'when giving birth to a child or watching the child grow up', and 'when watching the child's achievements'…p6Among adults, the most common source of frequent happiness (45.9%) was family harmony.
'가정의 화목,에서 빈번한 행복을 경험한다는 응답이 45.9%로 가장 많았고The most common answer, at 45.9%, was experiencing frequent happiness in family harmony…p8As their unhappiest experience, men more often named personal failure, while women more often named family members' suffering and family conflict.
'개인적 실패는 여성보다 남성에게 가장 불행한 경험이었던 반면에, ,가족의 고통,과 ,가족 간의 불화는 남성보다 여성에게 가장 불행한Personal failure was the unhappiest experience for men more than for women, whereas family suffering and family conflict were the unhappiest for women more than for men…p9Sorting happy experiences into personal vs. relational, students named both about equally, but adults named relational experiences more (no such difference appeared for unhappy experiences).
성인들이 기술한 행복 경험은 개인적 경험보다는 관계적 경험이 더 많았다The happy experiences described by adults were more often relational than personal.p12학생들은 개인적 경험과 관계적 경험을 비슷 한 수준으로 언급했으나…students mentioned personal and relational experiences at similar levels, but…p12그러나 이러한 차이는 불행 경험의 경우에는 나타나지 않았다However, this difference did not appear for unhappy experiences.p12Comfort was the positive emotion felt most often by both students and adults.
특히 '편안함'은 학생과 성인 모두에게 있어서 가장 자주 경험되는 긍정적인 정서였다In particular, comfort was the most frequently experienced positive emotion for both students and adults.p12The emotion felt most in the unhappiest situation was despair (including frustration and misery), at 23.7%.
가장 불행한 상황에서 경험한 정서는 '절망(23.7%)'이었다The emotion experienced in the unhappiest situation was "despair (23.7%)."p12,절망'의 범주에는 좌절감, 죽고 싶음, 비참함, 괴로움이 포함되었다The category of 'despair' included frustration, wanting to die, misery, and distress.p12People who frequently found happiness in money and material things scored lower on happiness than those who found it in relationships or achievement.
물질경제적 경험을 통해서 빈번한 행복을 경험하는 사람들은 사회적 관계나 개인적 성취를 통해 빈번한 행복을 경험하는 사람들보다 행복 지수가 더 낮았People who frequently experience happiness through material and economic experiences had lower happiness scores than those who frequently experience happiness through social relationships or personal achievement.p14Authors’ interpretation
That comfort is an important component of happiness suggests, the authors argue, that for Koreans happiness is less a state of excitement than of keeping the mind at peace — maintaining an even keel (pyeongsangsim, 평상심).
한국인에게 행복이 긴장되고 상승된 상태의 경험이라기보다 마음의 안정을 유지하는 편안한 상태의 경험…for Koreans, happiness is less an experience of a tense, heightened state than an experience of a comfortable state that keeps the mind stable.p18편안함 혹은 불안이 정서적 행복의 중 요한 구성 요소라는 결과는The finding that comfort or anxiety is an important component of emotional happiness…p18마음의 안정을 유지하는 편안한 상태의 경험 즉 평상심(뇨lng ordinary)을 유지하는 것임을…an experience of a comfortable state that keeps the mind stable, that is, maintaining an even keel (being ordinary)…p18Relational emotions like feeling let down or sorry push people to repair strained relationships, which strengthens mutual dependence.
원만한 관계를 다시 회복하려는 노력을 기울이게 함으로써 타인과의 상호의존성을 촉진시키는 기능을 한…function to promote interdependence with others by making people try to restore harmonious relationships.p19자 주 경험하는 부정적인 관계적 정서는 섭섭함, 야속함, 미안함…the frequently experienced negative relational emotions were feeling let down, resentment, feeling sorry…p19In conclusion, Korean happiness and unhappiness cannot be fully understood through achieving personal goals alone; social relationships must be considered too.
한국인의 행복과 불행은 사회적 관계에 대한 고려 없이 개인적 소망과 목표의 달성만으로는 완전히 이해되기 힘들다Koreans' happiness and unhappiness are hard to understand fully through achieving personal wishes and goals alone, without considering social relationships.p19Limits the authors note
The study only took the view that experiences build happiness, and did not consider personal traits such as personality.
본 연구는 행복에 대한 상향적 접근만을 고려하며 성격과 같은 개인적 특성의 영향을 고려하지 못했다This study considered only the bottom-up approach to happiness and did not consider the influence of individual characteristics such as personality.p19It surveyed only middle-class university students and middle-aged adults, leaving out other age groups and social classes.
대학생과 중년의 성인만을 대상으로 하여 그 외의 연령이나 사회계층을 포함하지 못했다…targeted only university students and middle-aged adults, and did not include other ages or social classes.p20물결적 혹은 경제적 요소들에 대한 응답이 상대적으 로 적은 것은 중산층만을 그 대상으로 했기 때문일 수 있다…the relatively few responses about material or economic factors may be because only the middle class was studied.p20Key terms
Indigenous psychology The scientific study of a region's people's behavior and minds from that region's own perspective, rather than with theories imported from elsewhere.
그 지역에 고유하고, 타 지역에서 유입되지 않은, 그 지역 사람들을 위한 인간의 행동이나 마음에 대한 과학적 연구"The scientific study of human behavior or mind that is native, not transported from other regions, and designed for its people."p4Frequency and intensity of emotion Frequency is the total of all the moments one felt an emotion; intensity is the average strength of the emotions felt.
정서의 빈도란 개인이 정서를 경험한 순간의 총합이며, 정서의 강도는 경험한 정서의 평균 강도를 의미한다The frequency of emotion is the sum of the moments an individual experienced an emotion, and the intensity of emotion means the average intensity of the emotions experienced.p3Subjective well-being The psychological term for happiness: a person's own evaluation of their life as a whole.
녕감(subjecttve well-belng)은 자신의 삶 전반에 대한 개인의 주관적 평가이며Subjective well-being is an individual's subjective evaluation of their life as a whole…p3