Ulsan Has Best Quality of Life in Korea

Ulsan was rated the best of Korea's largest metropolitan cities to live in and Busan the worst, according to a survey.

Advertisement

"We calculated the deprivation index based on the 2005 population and housing census taken by Statistics Korea, and Busan had the largest proportion of people with a high level of deprivation", explained Prof. Yoon Tae-ho of Pusan National University Medical School.

The deprivation index quantifies the quality of life in a residential environment.

The analysis showed that in Busan, people in the least deprived quintile or the top 20 percent accounted for a mere 8.5 percent of the city's population, while those in the fifth quintile or the bottom 20 percent made up 35.4 percent.

But the top quintile accounted for 44 percent of the population in Ulsan, while those in the bottom quintile made up a mere 15.9 percent.

The differences are mainly attributed to available jobs. In Ulsan, many people enjoy stable jobs and a middle-class lifestyle thanks to the large heavy industry complex nearby, whereas in Busan jobs are hard to find.

The employment rate is 59.1 percent and unemployment a mere 1.7 percent in Ulsan, compared to 55.5 percent and 3.1 percent in Busan.