A research study has shown that the quality of life for South Koreans ranks in the middle tier among the 38 OECD member countries.

Korea ranked 37th in social connections and 36th in life satisfaction, showing lower emotional fulfillment compared to its education and economic levels.

According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs today (August 10), South Korea's Better Life Index (BLI) stood at 5.99 points, placing it 19th among the 38 OECD countries.

Norway ranked first overall with 7.31 points, while Mexico was at the bottom with 3.70 points.

What stood out the most was the "social connections" category, where Korea placed second to last.

In particular, under "social support," a sub-indicator of social connections that measures whether individuals have relatives or friends they can count on in times of trouble, Korea ranked at the very bottom.

Korea also remained in the lower tiers in indicators measuring disparity and deprivation.

Korea's income quintile share ratio stood at 5.77, showing a significant gap from Slovakia, which recorded the lowest ratio at 3.66.

Life satisfaction stood at 6.5 points, lingering at 36th place.

In addition, Korea remained at 29th place in the negative affect balance indicator, which measures the "proportion of respondents who reported experiencing negative emotions more often than positive ones."

On the other hand, there were indicators where Korea ranked near the top.

The ratio of household disposable income remaining after housing rent and maintenance expenditures—a sub-indicator of the housing category—stood at 84.83%, ranking 2nd in the upper tier.

An official from the research team explained, "This means that out of an income of 1 million won per month, only about 150,000 won is spent on housing rent and maintenance," while adding, "However, housing loan repayments are not included."

Korea also showed strong performances in areas such as "knowledge and skills," where it ranked 2nd, and life expectancy at birth, where it ranked 5th.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Minji | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News | Source: Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs)