A survey has found that South Korea's level of independence is highest in the cultural sector while lowest in diplomacy.
Bimonthly magazine Sasanggye released survey results on March 1 examining the nation's practical level of autonomy and independence, marking the 107th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement.
The survey was conducted among 1,000 adults aged 20 and older residing in 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Respondents evaluated their perceived level of independence across sectors including politics, economy, diplomacy, security, and culture on a scale divided into five intervals of 20 points each, assigning specific scores.
South Korea's overall independence level averaged 60.9 points. By sector, culture scored highest at an average of 62.9 points, while diplomacy scored lowest at 46.1 points. A Sasanggye official explained, "Survey respondents viewed Korea as culturally 'autonomous,' meaning strong, but evaluated it as 'dependent' or weak diplomatically."
Differences emerged across age groups. Respondents in their 20s rated overall independence at an average of 54.0 points, lower than those in their 50s who averaged 65.8 points. Only 11.5% of all respondents assessed the country as diplomatically "autonomous."
In the security independence category, a notable gap appeared between men (average 57.1 points) and women (average 46.2 points).
Respondents who rated South Korea's overall independence at 60 points or below cited reasons including "deferring to major powers" (66.2%) and "partisan fighting over national interests" (42.3%). Many expressed that "political unity," "economic sovereignty," and "balanced diplomacy and wartime operational control" are essential for Korea to become a truly independent nation.
Sasanggye is a magazine founded in 1953 by the late independence activist Chang Jun-ha (1918-1975). It was shut down in 1970 during the Park Chung-hee regime and relaunched last year after 55 years, now published bimonthly starting this year.