Do you have someone to ask for help?

Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the World. However, surprisingly, people in Myanmar have been named the most generous people in the world for three years in a row, followed by the U.S. and Australia. The least generous country was China. According to the World Giving Index reported on Tuesday, Myanmar’s giving index was 70 percent, while China only received 11 percent. The index is commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in Britain.

The CAF started the World Giving Index in 2008 by calculating generosity of people in terms of donation, volunteerism and individuals helping strangers. Unfortunately, only five of the G20 countries made through the top 20. Contrary to common thinking, the level of economic richness failed to show any relevance. In the meantime, poverty could not stop 91 percent of people in Myanmar making donation. Do the poor have more sympathy for people in needs? Interestingly, people in the worn-torn Iraq have been named the friendliest country for two consecutive years. The report indicated that 81 percent of respondents said they “helped strangers.”

Korea has ranked 27th in the index, which is shameful 11-noth drop from the ranking of 64 in 2015. Korea’s giving index stood only at 33 percent. To be more specific, Korea recorded 18 percent in volunteerism, 35 percent in donation to a charitable organization and 46 percent in helping strangers. In the survey of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on the social trust level, only 26.6 percent of Koreans responded that they trust others, and Korea has sadly ranked 23rd in the list. Korea remains in the bottom group when it comes to the social network level, too. When questioned if you have someone to ask for help when you needed, Korea only had one country behind among 35 countries.

According to an analysis by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday, if Korea’s social trust level reaches the level of North European countries such as Denmark, Korea will achieve 4 percent range economic growth. North European countries have recorded a whopping 69.9 percent in average. More generous society will pave a way to create not only a happier country but also an economically developed country. Mother Teresa, who was canonized as a saint last month, had criticized indifference more than poverty or hunger. We should be reminded of the saying “deficiency in love is a huge sin.”

고미석기자 mskoh119@donga.com