Korean Job Discussion Forums

[KimchiNinja]

To me, and some of my Western friends who have visited, Koreans seem very happy. Way more so than people in the West. Not sure where you guys get this idea Koreans are unhappy.

[guavashake]

According to Happy Planet Index,

http://www.happyplanetindex.org/data/

Korea is happier than Canada, Australia, and USA...

The new HPI results show the extent to which 151 countries across the globe produce long, happy and sustainable lives for the people that live in them. The overall index scores rank countries based on their efficiency, how many long and happy lives each produces per unit of environmental output.

Each of the three component measures – life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint – is given a traffic-light score based on thresholds for good (green), middling (amber) and bad (red) performance. These scores are combined to an expanded six-color traffic light for the overall HPI score, where, to achieve bright green – the best of the six colors, a country would have to perform well on all three individual components.

"The Happy Planet Index shows that living a green life isn’t about wearing a hair-shirt – it’s about improving the quality of life for all of us, at a lower cost to the environment. This way we can build a better society that operates within the limits of the ecosystem. Business as usual has given us a series of linked economic, environmental and social crises. We need to transform our economic system so that it is socially just and ecologically sustainable. To do this, we need new measures of progress, which capture what really matters."

Caroline Lucas MP

[aq8knyus]

[Steelrails]

I would also like to submit the notion that happiness is perhaps not necessarily the best or most responsible goal to pursue. To me it would seem responsibility and duty should trump happiness. Having your girl ditch her resistance-leading husband and live with you while you run your North African invader-serving bar may be more "fun" and make you "happy", but its not the right thing to do. I think happiness has become over emphasized in society and unfortunately, due to lack of moderation, has veered into hedonism. Sometimes responsible misery is preferable to irresponsible happiness.

[Chaparrastique]

[KimchiNinja]