Census moving online as Koreans stop answering their doors

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Census moving online as Koreans stop answering their doors

Published: 15 Nov. 2024, 18:48

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Statistics Korea Commissioner Lee Hyoung-il speaks during a press briefing in central Seoul on Friday. [STATISTICS KOREA]

People are increasingly shunning census workers who knock on their front doors, following a trend that has been seen worldwide since the Covid-19 pandemic. Things are even more complicated in Korea, a country in which half the population lives in apartment complexes, mostly with locked entrances.

Statistics Korea is exploring virtual solutions for rising barriers ahead of its upcoming population census next year, according to Commissioner Lee Hyoung-il.

“Since the pandemic, there has been a growing trend of avoiding in-person surveys, and stronger awareness regarding personal information protection also plays a part,” Lee said during a news conference with foreign and English-language outlets in central Seoul on Friday.

The rapidly growing number of single- or two-person households also makes it harder for census employees to conduct on-site surveys, as most people are absent from home during the day and reluctant to participate in inquiries in the evening.

“The first and foremost approach we are taking is to scale up online surveys,” said Lee, adding that the agency is considering offering better rewards to respondents as well.

Statistics Korea will also roll out census questionnaires in 20 languages, which would cover about 98 percent of the total foreign population, in order to encourage non-Korean residents to take part. For apartment residents, the agency plans to scrape data from the administrative databases instead of running field surveys.

Conducted every five years, the population and housing census provides a crucial foundation for policy decisions, especially given Korea’s aging population and ultralow birthrate. Statistics Korea is currently canvassing for addresses, a preparatory step for next year’s census survey.

Addressing Korea's recent rebound in births, Lee expressed cautious optimism.

“We could observe a significant correlation between marriages and birthrates,” said the commissioner, attributing the uptrend to post-pandemic marriage growth.

“The government has been sending out a lot of signals regarding policy measures to resolve the low birthrate. Though it is difficult to measure their impacts, I believe those signals can influence public perception,” Lee said, adding, “We should wait and see how the trend proceeds from now on.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]