How much do we really know about Asia?
Many Koreans travel abroad for tourism, study, or business and experience a range of cultures, and even without leaving the country we encounter foreigners — tourists, international students, workers, and marriage migrants. Given Korea’s geographic location, a large share of the foreigners we meet in daily life come from Asia. Yet even though we ourselves are an Asian country, our knowledge of Asia is often limited to neighboring Northeast Asia: China, Japan, and Taiwan.
The Asian continent covers 31,954.66 (million km²), the largest of the six continents, and contains 51 countries. It is home to 60% of the world’s population and accounts for 40% of the global economy. Historically, it is the birthplace of numerous religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam, and the races, ethnicities, and languages of Asian citizens are enormously diverse.
To learn what our Asian neighbors think today — not the Asians of history books or international-relations news — the Seoul National University Asia Center posed a wide range of questions on family, childbirth, children, happiness, life values, meritocracy, social trust, and conflict to citizens of 12 major Asian cities, including Seoul, and, as a comparison group, 3 major Western cities.
Regional comparative research helps us understand other societies, but it is also useful for solving our own problems. Korean society today must identify causes and find solutions to complex and serious problems: demographic change driven by low birth rates and population aging, and the polarization and inequality that have deepened as capitalism has advanced. We hope the “Social Value Survey in Asian Cities” will serve as foundational data for addressing these issues, considering Korea’s distinctive problems and conditions alongside the trends of rapidly developed societies.
Regional comparative surveys are demanding to plan and carry out, and interpreting the data required even greater care. Though still imperfect, we hope this work helps us look at our own problems and understand our Asian neighbors. The Asia Center seeks to deepen understanding of Asia and to contribute to building solidarity and cooperation for peace in Asia and the world.
What is the Social Value Survey in Asian Cities?
The Social Value Survey in Asian Cities was conducted by the Asia Center and Hankook Research as a web survey from November 4 to 14, 2022, with 10,500 men and women aged 18 to 59 in 12 major Asian cities and 3 major Western cities. The target cities were Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Beijing (China), Taipei (Taiwan), Hanoi (Vietnam), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia), New Delhi (India), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Jerusalem (Israel), Ankara (Türkiye), New York (USA), London (UK), and Paris (France). In each country, 700 respondents were surveyed using quotas based on the population composition by gender and age group. The sampling frame was Hankook Research’s online panel for Seoul and Toluna’s online panel for the other 14 countries. The maximum sampling error for each country is ±3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Citation (monograph / e-book):
Huh, Jungwon, Woojin Shim, Abhisheka Dubey, and Seong Jin Park. 2026. Social Value Survey in Asian Cities: Social Value Survey in Asian Cities. Gwacheon: Jininjin.
Monograph: Social Value Survey in Asian Cities
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