Korea ranks 28th in the National Advancement Index (NAI) 2013, up three places from the last survey in 2010, the Hansun Foundation for Freedom and Happiness (HFFH) said Wednesday.

The HFFH surveyed 40 countries ? 30 from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 10 emerging economies ? to come up with the results.

Specifically, the Seoul-based private think-tank looked into indicators in five fields ? economics, politics, society, culture and global contribution ? to measure the level of advancement. Included in these were national output, the electoral process, and investment into research.

“Compared to the 2010 report, Korea jumped six places in culture to 18th and three in economics to 21st, which is behind the country’s rise in the NAI,” an HFFH official said.

“Yet, it slipped in society and global contribution to 30th and 36th, respectively, which explains why Korea is behind its competitors such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.”

Hong Kong was 15th followed by Singapore at 22nd and Taiwan at 27th, resulting in Korea being the lowest in the NAI ranking among Asia’s four emerging economies.

Korea ranked 33rd in the first NAI survey in 2008 and rose to 29th in 2009 before sliding to 31st the next year.

European countries were second to none with Norway staying atop the list followed by Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Denmark. Also of note is that the United States ranked 12th and Japan 18th.

The HFFH also made public a separate survey on 100 young adults in their 20s on what they understood by the term “advancement.”

Thirty-eight percent said the term suggested science and technology followed by 18 percent who said economics; 12 percent, welfare; and 11 percent, the level of popular consciousness.

Among those who picked science and technology as the most significant factor to decide advancement, seven said that Samsung is the biggest contributor to the people’s awareness of Korea, while six chose LG.

Samsung is by far the largest conglomerate in Korea with flagship affiliate Samsung Electronics.

LG is its domestic rival with the group’s iconic subsidiary being LG Electronics.

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