Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Releases the Results of the 2025 Busan Social Survey, Showing Improved Satisfaction Across Labor, Housing, Transportation, and Daily Life

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (December 5) the results of the 2025 Busan Social Survey, which was conducted to improve the quality of life of Busan citizens.

The Busan Social Survey, first conducted in 1996 and now marking its 30th edition, is used as foundational data for developing policies that identify civic awareness, living standards, and social changes within the community.

This year’s survey was conducted over 21 days, from August 19 to September 8.

Overview of the 2025 Busan Social Survey
• Survey period: August 19–September 8, 2025 (reference date: August 19, 2025)
• Survey target: 17,860 sample households in Busan, including 31,744 residents aged 15 or older
• Survey method: Household interview surveys conducted by surveyors and self-administered questionnaires
• Survey areas: 55 items across five categories—labor, housing·transportation, culture·leisure, education, income·consumption
• Conducted by: Busan Metropolitan City (districts and counties)

This year’s survey targeted 31,744 Busan citizens aged 15 or older across 17,860 sample households and examined five major sectors—labor, housing·transportation, culture·leisure, education, and income·consumption—covering 55 survey items.

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Key Findings of the 2025 Busan Social Survey

[Labor]
Overall satisfaction with the working conditions of respondents’ current jobs was 51.9 percent, a 4.0-percentage-point increase from 2023. Regarding key policy priorities that Busan Metropolitan City (districts and counties) should support to expand employment, respondents selected:
• “Job creation” (47.1%), followed by
• “Corporate attraction and employment promotion” (24.9%).

Factors influencing job selection (multiple responses) were:
• “Income (wages)” (76.2%)
• “Job stability” (45.0%).

The factor reported as most helpful in securing one’s current job was “practical experience in a similar industry,” cited by 44.3 percent.

[Housing·Transportation]
Seven out of ten citizens (7.7 out of 10) expressed a desire to continue living in Busan. Satisfaction with the residential environment (housing, infrastructure, pedestrian environment, parking) in respondents’ neighborhoods increased in all four areas compared to 2023.

The highest satisfaction level was recorded for “infrastructure, including water and sewage systems” (61.4%).
While “parking facility use” recorded the lowest satisfaction (45.7%), it also saw the largest improvement, rising by 5.2 percentage points from 2023.

Satisfaction with public transportation increased for all modes of transport.
The highest satisfaction level was with “subway, light rail, and the Donghae Line” (70.7%).
Satisfaction with “taxis” showed the largest increase, rising by 6.2 percentage points to 55.9 percent.

[Culture·Leisure]

Satisfaction with Busan’s cultural and leisure facilities was 24.1 percent, while satisfaction with leisure activities was 25.5 percent.

On weekends or holidays, 70.4 percent of citizens mainly spent their leisure time “watching video content.”
In addition, 47.1 percent of respondents reported attending cultural or artistic events in Busan within the past year.

[Education]
Overall satisfaction with school life was 59.0 percent. The highest-rated subcategory was “peer relationships,” at 70.5 percent.

Satisfaction with the childcare environment was 54.6 percent, and satisfaction with the public education environment was 37.3 percent.
Regarding educational opportunities outside of formal schooling, 29.1 percent responded that such opportunities were “sufficient.”

The average monthly household spending on education was 224,000 won for public education and 639,000 won for private education.
Households reporting that educational expenses were a “burden” accounted for 59.1 percent, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from 2023.

[Income·Consumption]
Preferred marketplaces varied by age group:
• Those in their 20s–30s primarily used “online shopping malls.”
• Those in their 40s–50s preferred “large supermarkets.”
• Those aged 60 and older most frequently used “traditional markets.”

As for measures to revitalize traditional markets, respondents selected:
• “Construction and expansion of parking facilities” (28.9%), and
• “Facility modernization” (24.3%).

Among Busan residents, 82.3 percent reported having income. Of those, 25.9 percent expressed satisfaction with their income, a 3.0-percentage-point increase from 2023.

A total of 36.2 percent of households reported having debt, with the most common reason being “rental or purchase of housing” (71.3%).

Details of gender-, age-, and region-specific results of the 2025 Busan Social Survey are available on the Big Data Wave website (data.busan.go.kr, Statistics → Statistical Data Room).

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The findings of this social survey, which reflect the voices of Busan citizens, will serve as an important foundation for refining our policy direction moving forward. We will actively utilize the results to improve citizens’ quality of life across all areas of municipal governance, and we will do our best to build a better Busan through data-driven scientific administration.”