Korean singer IU (Edam Entertainment)
Korean singer IU (Edam Entertainment)

Over 40 percent of surveyed elementary school students aspire to work in the entertainment, culture and sports sector when they grow up, a joint report by local think tanks showed Thursday.

A recent survey of 330 students between the fourth and sixth grade showed that 43.2 percent of respondents said they wanted to work in the field of "culture, art and sports" when they grow up, according to a report from the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and Seoul National Universities' Institute of Social Welfare.

The specific field includes actors, singers, professional athletes, directors and producers in both theater and film, as well as artists and writers.

That was by far the most popular answer, with the second sector at 10.02 percent being "health, welfare and religion," which includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, social welfare workers and religious workers.

In a close third was "education expert" at 9.35 percent, followed by "judiciary expert" at 7.3 percent, "culinary and food service" at 6.76 percent, "high-ranking official at public service or corporate" at 5.22 percent and "science expert" at 4.95 percent.

The children were asked to present their top two choices, and the entertainment and sports sector was also the most popular choice among second options. Some 21.53 percent of elementary school students picked entertainment and sports, followed by 12.2 percent who picked culinary and food services as their backup.

Asked if they thought acquiring their dream job was feasible, 41.51 percent said they "somewhat think so," while 11.73 percent said they "very much think so."

The recent findings were partially in accordance with the findings of the Education Ministry's survey last year of elementary, middle and high school students across 1,200 schools. The survey showed that 12.9 percent of respondents in elementary schools wanted to be athletes -- more than double the next choice, doctors at 6.1 percent.

The ministry's survey indicated that dream jobs tended to be more realistic among older students, as the top choice for both middle and high school students was becoming a teacher, at 6.8 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com