Jeonnam Residents' Life Satisfaction Reaches Record High... More Positive Views on Marriage and Children

6.6 in 2022 → 6.8 in 2024 → 6.9 in 2026: Life Satisfaction Continues to Rise
Private Education Expenses and Participation Rates Decline, Medical Service Satisfaction Improves
Challenges Remain: Waiting Times and Shortage of Specialized Medical Staff

Satisfaction with life among residents of the Jeonnam region has continued to rise, accompanied by increasingly positive perceptions regarding marriage and children. While private education expenses and participation rates have decreased and satisfaction with medical services has improved, unresolved challenges remain, such as long waiting times for medical treatment and a shortage of specialized medical staff.

According to Pan-Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City on August 24, results from the "2026 Jeollanam-do Social Survey," conducted by the former Jeonnam Province government before the integration, revealed that the average life satisfaction score among 19,116 households with residents aged 15 or older in the region stood at 6.9 points.

View of the Muan Office Building, Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Hall.

This survey, conducted from March 6 to 18, assessed residents’ quality of life and social needs across 12 areas, including households and family, income and consumption, labor, education, and health and medical services.

The life satisfaction score for Jeonnam region residents has seen a steady climb, from 6.6 in 2022 to 6.8 in 2024, reaching 6.9 this year. The proportions of residents who gave positive responses regarding "satisfaction with life," "satisfaction with local living conditions," and "frequency of happiness" all increased compared to 2024, indicating overall improvement in quality of life.

There have also been notable shifts in perceptions about marriage and having children.

The number of first marriages in Jeonnam rose from 4,279 cases in 2023 to 5,246 in 2024, and then to 5,523 last year, marking a two-year consecutive increase. This represents a rise of 1,244 cases, or about 29%, over two years.

The share of respondents who said "one should get married" was 60.6%, up 0.8 percentage points from 2024. Those favoring "having children" also rose by 1.3 percentage points to 66.5%.

Inflation appears to have slowed somewhat. In 2025, the Consumer Price Index was 117.54, and the consumer price inflation rate fell from 3.5% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2024, and further to 2.2% last year.

In the field of education, both private education expenditures and participation rates declined.

Last year, the average monthly private education cost per student in Jeonnam was 309,000 won, 11,000 won lower than the previous year, while the participation rate in private education fell by 3.6 percentage points to 68.1%. Both figures remained below the national average.

By school level, general high schools had the highest average monthly private education cost at 342,000 won, while elementary schools recorded the highest participation rate in private education at 80.7%.

Some improvements were also noted in health and medical conditions. Last year, the number of medical institutions in Jeonnam increased by eight from the previous year, and the number of medical professionals rose by 433. Satisfaction with medical services also increased, reaching 3.5 points—up 0.1 points from 2024.

However, when it came to dissatisfaction with medical services, “waiting times for treatment or hospitalization” accounted for the largest share at 22.9%. “Shortage of specialized medical staff” followed at 13.9%, highlighting that improving accessibility to medical care and expanding professional staff remain challenges for the future.

Son Myungdo, Director of Policy Planning at Pan-Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City, noted, “The results of this social survey show that overall quality of life among residents is improving, but there remain tasks for the integrated special city to address, such as further improvement of medical services.” He added, “We will use residents’ responses as foundational data for policy development, implementing policies that local residents can truly feel.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.