Perception of social problems and prospects for progress Korea: An indigenous psychological analysis.

초록

This study examines the social problems and the prospect of social development as perceived by high school students and their fathers using the indigenous psychological analysis. Participants completed an open-ended questionnaire dealing with social problems, aspects of Korean society that they feel proud of, factors promoting democracy, and the reunification of two Koreas. A total of 1,005 participants (544 students and 461 fathers) participated. First, 27% of students and fathers indicated corruption as the most serious problem, followed by self-interested individualism (24%), disorderliness (13%), class distinction and excessive consumption (12%), and nepotism (8%). Second, the most proud aspect about Korean society was the solidarity among people (39%), successfully hosting the 2002 World Cup, traditional culture, and strong will and perseverance. Third, the obstacle of democracy, high school students indicated immoral political leaders (26%) and their fathers reported corruption (24%) as being the most problematic. Fourth, to develop a truly democratic society, the most frequent response for students was national responsibility and integrity (20%) and the most frequent response for fathers was political reform. Implications of the results on the political culture and future of Korea will be discussed.