So, What is Happiness? Well according to the dictionary, Happiness is the mental state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. But is that all there is for happiness in one’s life? According to the United Nations, they have a little different approach to happiness. According to their Happiness report in 2015, happiness is a proper measure of social progress and a goal of public policy.
According to their happiness report, South Korea is ranked 47 with a happiness score of 5.984. There are many factors that influence this score. It is explained through GDP per capita, social support, health life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perception of corruption, and dystopia + residual. For South Korea specifically, their happiness is mainly based on GDP per capita, social support, and health life expectancy. The GDP per capita was at its highest in 2014 at 24565.56 USD. For South Korea’s health life expectancy, it makes sense that it would be pretty high. As I said in my previous blog (the one about food), Korean people in general tend to eat mostly steam with very little red meat. With that said, I think they have a very good diet which in the long run can increase their life expectancy by a lot. With this in mind, South Korea is still ranked 47 which is pretty much in he middle so I do not think using the UN’s method of evaluation for happiness a accurate way mainly because there is no way they can account for. Also, there are tons of happy people who do not meet our expectations of living.
southkorea46 
I really enjoyed your introduction. You pointed out that although only one official definition of the word exists, different individuals and organizations may view “happiness” in different ways. The connection to national diet was unexpected but convincing. When writing my blog I failed to consider this so I thank you for bringing it up. What is the average age for a South Korean male/female and how does that effect the healthcare system (which may end up effecting economics and concomitant “happiness”)?
LikeLike