Korean Children Rank Just 11th in Happiness Among 14 Countries... Sejong Tops Domestic Rankings

“2026 Korean Children’s Quality of Life Symposium”
Korean children’s subjective happiness: 8.47 out of 10
Sejong ranks first, Jeonbuk last... wide regional disparities

Korean children ranked just 11th in happiness among children in 14 countries. Within Korea, too, there were wide regional disparities in children’s quality of life. Sejong had the highest quality-of-life index.

Children at a daycare center wave the Taegukgi. File photo unrelated to the article. Provided by Buk-gu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. Yonhap News.

Save the Children, an international child rights nongovernmental organization (NGO), announced the findings on October 20 at the “2026 Korean Children’s Quality of Life Symposium,” held at the Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, in collaboration with Seoul National University’s Institute of Social Welfare.

Yoo Minsang, a senior research fellow at the National Youth Policy Institute, used data from the “International Survey of Children’s Well-Being” to compare the relationships between the happiness of 10-year-old children and their home, school, and community environments, as well as their digital and natural environments. The survey found that Korean children’s self-reported happiness averaged 8.47 out of 10.

This ranked 11th among the 14 countries surveyed. The findings also showed a strong association between Korean children’s sense of connection with their peers and their happiness. Experiences of cyberbullying were negatively associated with happiness, while a sense of connection with nature was positively associated with it.

“The environments that affect children’s happiness are expanding beyond the home, school, and community to include digital and natural environments,” Yoo said, adding that laws and systems to protect children’s rights should encompass these changes.

Yoo Joan, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul National University, then presented findings from a survey of 7,951 children in third and fifth grades of elementary school and first grade of middle school, along with 7,951 caregivers, across all 17 cities and provinces. The survey covered 43 indicators across eight areas, including health, relationships, material circumstances, safety, and education.

On the quality-of-life index, converted to a scale where the national average was 100, Sejong scored highest at 113.9, followed by Gyeongnam at 111.3, Busan at 107.2, Daegu at 107.0, and Seoul at 106.4. Jeonbuk had the lowest score, at 75.0, a gap of 38.9 points from first-place Sejong.

An in-depth analysis found that children’s quality of life was closely associated with everyday experiences, including their relationships with parents and peers and their satisfaction with school. The analysis also found that children’s perceptions of safety in their communities and mental health indicators had an impact.

“Support systems at schools and in communities should be connected around the relationships and living environments children actually experience,” Professor Yoo said. “The safety of routes to school and play areas should also be assessed based on how safe children themselves feel.”

That same day, Kim Seonsuk, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Korea National University of Transportation, and Ahn Jaejin, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Gachon University, presented findings from Korea’s first quality-of-life assessment based on responses from 6-year-old children. They reported that community experiences, such as feeling that the neighborhood where they live is safe, were most strongly associated with the children’s happiness. Relationships with friends, teachers’ attention, school experiences, and material possessions were also associated with happiness.

Jung Taeyoung, president of Save the Children, pointed out that the opportunities available to children and the degree of happiness they experience vary by region. “Save the Children will continue to fulfill its role in connecting on-the-ground work with policy to bring about changes that children need in their everyday lives,” he said.

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