An increasing number of Koreans believe that success is when their children find a job they like rather than a place at a top university or a big conglomerate, a survey suggests.
The Korean Educational Development Institute polled 4,000 parents nationwide last September. Asked what success in their children's education means, the largest proportion or 25.8 percent of respondents ticked finding a job they like or want to do.
Next came growing up as a well-rounded person (22.7 percent); landing a highly-regarded job (20.5 percent); being economically well-off (14.3 percent); studying at a prestigious university (10.1 percent); and finding a good spouse (6.6 percent).
Compared with the same poll in 2015, the proportion who said finding a job they like or want to do increased nearly four percentage point, and the proportion who cited growing up as a well-rounded person 3.5 percentage points.
Landing a highly-regarded job and a place at a prestigious university dropped apace, and even doing well financially fell 3.4 percentage points.
Kwon Soon-hyung at the institute said, "During the period of industrialization and economic growth, people thought that they would achieve success if they studied hard, went to a top university and landed a job in a big conglomerate. But today more people believe it's important to become a well-rounded person, find a job they have an aptitude for, and find a good spouse they can be happy with."
