Abstract

The present study investigated (1) the perceived dimensions of important social problems and (2) urgency of social problems in current Korean society. Eighteen hundreds and twelve respondents including college students and their parents in 5 regional areas were asked to identify important social problems, and 65 items on which more than 40% of respondents agreed were, then, selected. The inter-item distance matrix of those 65 items was computed by using the similarity data obtained from independent 68 undergraduate and graduate students. Results from cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling consistently indicated the following two dimensions (stress=12.8%). The first dimension was institutional and structural government policies vs. people's life style, which were composed of political, economic, and social problems vs. cultural, educational, and juvenile problems, respectively. The second dimension was economic and regional injustice dimension vs. daily life environment dimension. Corruption of politicians, environmental pollution, traffic problems, and lift market/Uruguay Round were judged as highly important and urgent social problems. The perceived urgency of remaining items differed from the importance judgment. Regardless of the importance, issues concerning structural, institutional, and political problems were interpreted as highly urgent problems.