By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

More than half of Koreans regard Korea as an advanced nation, but the country placed 33rd out of 40 in a globalization ranking.

A survey of 1,000 people showed that 53.5 percent considered the nation to be an advanced country, as opposed to 46.3 percent who did not. The conservative Hansun Foundation for Freedom & Happiness made the survey public Wednesday

The institute also unveiled the 2009 National Advancement Index (NAI) ranking of 40 nations ― 30 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 10 non-OECD countries.

Korea ranked 29th overall, up one spot from last year.

The report showed that Korea ranked 22nd in economioc power, but its 33rd place in terms of globalization was disappointing.

This year's NAI put Sweden as the most advanced country overall for the second year in a row, followed by Denmark, Norway, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.

Researchers looked into 40 indicators in the fields of economics, politics, society, culture and globalization to gauge the level of advancement for the report.

Per capita GDP, R&D expenditure, the electoral process, a rule of law index and corruption were included in the list.

According to the report, Europe was second to none as its member countries took the top nine spots, with Australia in 10th. The United States placed 17th, slipping from 15th, while Japan ranked 21st.

Another survey of 40 opinion leaders, which was conducted separately, found that 50 percent thought Korea was not an advanced country overall.

Yet, out of those who felt the nation was advanced, 72.5 percent pointed to its strong economy as evidence. About 60 percent said Korea had advanced social services.

Those who thought that Korea was not an advanced country pointed to the general public's poor overall awareness.

Opinion leaders shared the view that the same factor is holding back Korea from becoming a mature nation.

Some also noted poor social services (19.2 percent) and a weak economy (10 percent) as two other elements that led them to express skeptical views about Korea's standing in the global community.

The survey taken from Sep. 1 to 3 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The results were made public during a symposium hosted by the private think tank.

♤ 이 글은 2009년 9월 23일 THE KOREA TIMES에 실린 글 입니다.