"6 out of 10 Koreans Rate Their Own 'Entrepreneurial Spirit' as Low"

Hankyung Association Commissions Monoresearch Survey
59.7% of Respondents Say "My Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Low"
Causes Include 'Fear of Failure' and Others
Also Affects Career Choices

Six out of ten Koreans rated their own 'entrepreneurial spirit' as low.

On the 16th, the Korea Economic Association (KEA) commissioned the public opinion research firm Monoresearch to conduct a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults on 'Entrepreneurial Spirit and Economic Education Public Awareness.' As a result, 59.7% of respondents rated their own entrepreneurial spirit as low.

Perception of one's own level of entrepreneurship, percentage of 'high' responses for entrepreneurship by generation. Photo by Korea Entrepreneurs Association

By age group, those who responded that their entrepreneurial spirit was low were highest among people in their 50s at 68.8%. This was followed by those in their 40s (67.9%), 20s (62.1%), 30s (58.7%), and 60s and older (48.8%). Conversely, the response rate for 'high entrepreneurial spirit' was highest among those aged 60 and over at 51.2%, followed by those in their 30s (41.3%), 20s (37.9%), 40s (32.1%), and 50s (31.2%).

Regarding this, KEA explained, "Looking only at respondents in their 20s and 30s, 60.4% answered that their entrepreneurial spirit was low," adding, "It is a concerning point that the entrepreneurial spirit of the MZ generation, who will lead the future, also appeared low."

The most common reason for low entrepreneurial spirit was 'fear of failure' (28.1%). Other reasons included 'lack of entrepreneurial spirit education inside and outside school' (26.3%), 'preference for high-income wage workers' (25.3%), and 'negative perception of companies and entrepreneurs' (11.8%). Additionally, 71.7% of all respondents answered that they had no experience with entrepreneurial spirit education.

Causes of Low Entrepreneurship, Experience in Entrepreneurship Education. Photo by Korea Entrepreneurs Association

Low entrepreneurial spirit was also found to affect career choices. Startups, venture companies, and entrepreneurship all showed lower intention to choose compared to their favorability. The gap was largest for startups at 16.7 percentage points, followed by venture companies at 14.8 points, and entrepreneurship at 13.9 points. In the case of large corporations, the intention to choose a career was 1.8 points higher than favorability, making it the only type of company where career choice intention exceeded favorability.

Regarding their level of economic knowledge, 59.5% of respondents rated themselves as 'low.' By age group, the response rate for 'low economic knowledge' was highest among those in their 50s (68.3%), followed by those in their 40s (62.5%), 20s (61.5%), 30s (54.3%), and 60s and older (53.7%). The entrepreneurial spirit qualities they wished to develop were 'ability to seize opportunities' (37.2%), 'challenging spirit and execution ability' (31.8%), and 'leadership and communication skills' (17.4%).

Jung Chul, President of the Korea Economic Research Institute and Chief Research Representative of KEA, said, "Entrepreneurial spirit is necessary across all generations, but the quantity and quality of educational content are limited," adding, "The government needs to activate entrepreneurial spirit education by encouraging participation from private organizations through public-private cooperation."