Korea falls to 67th in happiness ranking

K-pop performances at Gwanghwamun are streamed live around the world, while Korean writers regularly appear on the shortlists of major international literary prizes. On the surface, South Korea’s global cultural reach has never been stronger. Yet its happiness rankings tell a more complicated story.

According to the 2026 World Happiness Report published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and Gallup, South Korea ranked 67th out of 147 countries in self-reported life satisfaction. That marks a drop of six places from 58th last year and the country’s lowest position since the report was first issued in 2012. The decline was driven largely by weaker scores in areas such as social trust and perceptions of corruption.

This year’s report also highlights a new focus. Each edition of the World Happiness Report examines a specific theme, and this one looks at the impact of social networking services on well-being. It finds that social media use has contributed to declining happiness among adolescents in multiple countries, including South Korea, over the past decade.

The data shows a consistent pattern: people who spend less time on social media report higher life satisfaction, while heavier users report lower levels of happiness. The gap is most pronounced among those who use social platforms for five hours or more per day.

Researchers say the trend is linked to constant exposure to curated versions of other people’s lives, which can fuel feelings of relative deprivation and erode self-esteem. Platforms designed to connect users may, in practice, be weakening social ties and deepening feelings of isolation.

The effect is amplified by features such as infinite scrolling and algorithm-driven feeds, which are designed to maximize engagement but can increase dependency and disrupt everyday routines and relationships. The impact is especially strong among teenagers, whose identities are still forming and who are more sensitive to peer comparison.

In South Korea, where adolescents already report some of the lowest happiness levels among OECD countries amid intense academic pressure and competition, social media appears to be adding another layer of strain. A recent survey by the Ministry of Science and ICT found that 43 percent of Korean teenagers were at risk of smartphone overuse in 2025, up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier, even as the rate for the general population fell to 22.7 percent.

Another survey found that high school seniors born in 2008 spent an average of 6.02 hours per day on smart devices, while female students spent about 1.65 hours per day on social media alone.

Australia became the first country to ban social media use for children under 16 late last year, prompting similar measures to be discussed in countries including the United Kingdom and France. In South Korea, proposals such as restricting minors from creating social media accounts or limiting usage time have been raised in policy discussions, but legislation remains stalled in the National Assembly.

While blanket restrictions raise concerns over freedom of expression, continued inaction is also not seen as a viable option. The report suggests South Korea will need more serious public debate to build consensus on how to address the issue.


박선희 teller@donga.com