Agreement with Korean General Social Survey

Earlier this week, the European Social Survey (ESS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS).

The formal agreement was signed by both parties at the East Asian Social Survey conference in Seoul, Korea, on 7-8 February.

The two surveys have agreed to share knowledge and expertise in efforts to improve the survey methodology of both organisations.

Additionally, the KGSS will replicate questions fielded in the ESS, meaning that the attitudes and behaviour of respondents in European countries will be comparable to those in Korea for the first time.

KGSS is conducted by a team led by Jibum Kim at the Survey Research Centre - part of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The survey was implemented in 2003.

ESS Director, Professor Rory Fitzgerald, and KGSS Principal Investigator, Jibum Kim, signed the MoU on Tuesday 7 February. The agreement will initially last for four years, until February 2027.

The agreement is part of ongoing efforts by the ESS to increase links with major international survey projects located outside of Europe.

This latest MoU follows similar agreements made with the Japanese General Social Survey in June 2021, and the Australian National University and South African Social Attitudes Survey in September 2019.

At the conference, all four East Asian Social Survey members (China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan) agreed to field our Round 12 wellbeing module in their next wave.

Questions first fielded in the ESS have been replicated in the General Social Survey (GSS, United States), Life in Australia panel (led by Australian National University) and the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS).

An upcoming webinar - Life in Australia: Replicating the European Social Survey - will focus on new analysis of data collected in both surveys from 8-10am (GMT) on Monday 20 February.

Data collected by ANU, the GSS and SASAS is available for download from the resources section of our website.

Professor Rory Fitzgerald, the Director of ESS, said: “I am absolutely delighted that we have signed an MoU with the Korean General Social Survey.

“The KGSS is an excellent survey programme which puts a strong emphasis on high quality methods. This makes it a perfect global partner for the ESS.

“I would like to thank the PI of the KGSS - Professor Jibum Kim - for the excellent cooperation that has led to this signing.”

When available, data collected by the KGSS will also be added to the related studies section of our website.

Efforts to increase global links with other major international survey projects is currently funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871063 (SUSTAIN-2).