South Korea Continues to Rank Very Low on Expat Survey
Apparently expats do not have a high opinion of living in South Korea and a lot of has to do with making friends and settling in. From a U.S. military perspective there are so many KATUSAs and other to make friends with on base that this is really not an issue. Additionally it is easier to settle in on base as well when you don’t have to worry about getting cheated by landlords:
Korea ranked 47th out of 59 countries in an index based on a survey to determine the favorability of the living environment and conditions for expats. In the Expats Insider 2021 index released by InterNations, the world’s largest expat community with around 4 million members, those in Korea had difficulty settling in, finding friends and feeling at home.
Korea Times
The community conducted the annual survey in January on 12,420 expat respondents, representing 174 nationalities and living in 186 countries or territories, regarding their satisfaction in areas including quality of life, ease of settling in, working life, personal finance and cost of living.
Korea ranked 13th in general living conditions among 61 countries in 2014, but its ranking fell to 55th in 2019. It bounced back slightly to 54th in 2020 and 47th this year.
You can read more at the link.
Not a huge fan of InterNations, but their surveys are pretty detailed. I personally haven’t taken one in a few years but I’m not surprised at South Korea’s results. People should remember the term “Hermit Kingdom” was applied to the entire peninsula long before Japanese occupation in the early 20th Century & the split after WWII. South Korea was forced out of it’s shell by the UN and took advantage of that; but they are shopkeepers, come in, select our goods, pay us, get out.
I admit working there on short term projects was difficult; but one you’ve got one Korean friend, you can quickly be accepted by the others. It’s like learning the secret password, sort of…
I’d still like to be able to visit if personal finances and health were not obstacles…
Check it out, Jedi Master up in the top-right of the photo.
No wonder they rank low, they make people fill out detailed surveys in crowded seating on their knees with no regards for masks or social distancing. 😮
Ewww, you are right, Smokes.
They also force you to sit next to head trauma victims or mummy cosplayers or whatever is up with that funny looking guy.
So I hear they make them wear that because of some old yarn about some angels that would be all rapey cause human women were so beautiful or something. So I guess it’s ok because it’s for their protection… from angels… rapey angels…
Hey woah, what’s your beef with pinkey hair there? Bad angle on the face but toss her in some princess cosplay and there you go.
Kinda sheds a new light on “Touched by an Angel”.
I wonder if you can use the Angel Defense.
“Sir, you are under arrest for–”
“Settle down, officer. I’m an angel.”
“Oh. Sorry to trouble you.”
“It’s going to be a busy weekend in the alley behind the hair shop so don’t let it happen again.”