Pukyong National University

'What does the sea mean to Koreans?' PKNU announced the ocean index for 2023

- the degree of familiarity index · knowledge index↑ education index · food index↓

The results of the survey showed that although the sea is familiar and well known to Koreans, awareness of education and food related to it is low.

The humanity Korea plus (HK+) business team (director Kim Chang-Kyeong) at Pukyong National University announced the 'Pukyong ocean index of 2023', which was researched and analyzed to understand how the humanistic meaning of sea areas is perceived and thought according to region, generation, and individual experience.

Pukyong National University first surveyed and announced the Pukyong marine index under the supervision of the CORE Project group in 2017, and following 2018 and 2019, it skipped the corona time and announced the fourth survey results this year. This year, the (HK+) business team commissioned All That E&R to conduct an online survey targeting 1,000 male and female adults over the age of 18 nationwide.

The Pukyong ocean index, which comprehensively represents Koreans' perception of the sea, scored 621.7 points out of 1,000. This year was the highest compared to 609.4 points in 2017, 586.5 points in 2018, and 585.3 points in 2019.

Looking at the detailed indices by sub-area, 'familiarity index' was the highest with 68 points, followed by 'knowledge index' with 67.2 points. The lowest index was 'education index' with 37.3 points, followed by 'food index' with 50.3 points. In addition, the 'experience satisfaction index' was 64.7 points, the 'environment index' was 57.6 points, the 'economic index' was 57.0 points, the 'policy index' was 54.6 points, the 'safety index' was 53.6 points, and the 'security index' was 53.6 points. The higher the score, the higher people’s preferences and positive perceptions are.

The 'northeast Asia sea area index', a humanistic ocean awareness index that was first included in the previous survey, increased from 56.2 points to 57.8 points, and the 'knowledge index' (49.3→59.8→57→67.2) and the 'economic index' (42.7→50.7→57) showed an increasing trend. On the other hand, the 'education index' (60.1→37.3) and the 'food index' (56.6→50.3) fell from the previous survey, as well as the 'security index' (74.9→59.4→56.8→53.6) and the 'policy index' (74.1→58.4→54.6), showing a downward trend.

As for words representing the sea, 'Busan harbor' was selected for port, 'Jeju Island' for island, 'Haeundae' for beach, and 'mackerel' for fish, like the results of last year’s survey. Among the detailed questions, 80.5% of respondents said that the government needs to strengthen its fishery product safety management system, 70.9% said that policies should be established to protect the marine environment, and 68.0% of respondents said that integrated management of dispersed maritime policies is necessary.

Director Kim Chang-Kyeong of the HK+ business team said, "To expand the foundation and to found a base for maritime humanities in Korea, we conducted a nationwide maritime humanities survey under the theme of 'research on the dynamics of northeast Asian maritime and humanities networks', and announced the survey results so that they could be used as basic data for maritime policy from the perspective of 'ocean literacy'" <Pukyong Today>