Well-Being & Mental Health

In the wake of Westernization and the so-called ‘individualistic era’, scholars and influencers have argued that Korea is not a happy place because of a lack of individualism in people’s lives. We eschew this simplistic assumption as it only reflects a limited view that is bound up in Western cultural understanding of human flourishing. Drawing on SYM-COIN, we show that in the Korean cultural context it is a combination of collectivism and a strong sense of self-independence that leads to desirable outcomes on various indices of mental health. We also conduct correlational research that examines the role of collectivistic independence in promoting civic engagement that contributes to the bettering of society (e.g., volunteering, voting, environmental behavior).