Korea’s entrepreneurial spirit ranked among the lowest in Asia according to a report released by Amway.
The 2023 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER) reveals comprehensive data on trends around starting a business. The 2023 AGER was released on Nov. 13 in honor of the World Global Entrepreneurship Week from Nov. 3 to 19. When asked if they would start a business, a key indicator of entrepreneurship, only about 40 percent of Koreans said yes, ranking 13th out of 15 countries surveyed. That was higher than Germany (29 percent) and Japan (22 percent), but well below the global average (58 percent).
The difference becomes even bigger when the scope is limited to Asia where most of the countries surveyed are located. High rankers were populous China (77 percent) and India (76 percent), and emerging economies -- Vietnam (88 percent), Thailand (74 percent), and Malaysia (70 percent). Korea’s regional competitors -- Singapore (54 percent) and Taiwan (54 percent) – were also close to the global average.
Nearly half (49 percent) of the Korean respondents said fear of failure is perceived as a barrier to taking on new challenges. This showed wide gaps with China (27 percent) and India (29 percent). The percentage even eclipsed that of Japan (39 percent).
The survey was conducted on more than 15,000 adults in 15 countries around the world.