South Korea on the 12 axes
MLPGFree-Market CosmopolitanOpen markets, open minds, open borders for ideas.South Korea has the type MLPG, the Free-Market Cosmopolitan. Technology is its sharpest lean, at Embrace, and Authority leans Democratic, with a Liberal Democracy Index of 0.74 and judicial constraints on the executive of 0.87, both on a 0-1 scale (2025). Religion leans Secular, as the state is separated from religion (2025). Ownership leans Private and Markets lean Free, with total government spending at 36% of GDP (2025). Welfare and Structure sit near the centre, and universal compulsory service is in force (2025).
Japan is the closest country at 87%. Both lean Democratic, Secular and Embrace, but Japan leans far more Cooperation on foreign policy and leans Shared on Welfare, where South Korea sits near the centre. See how its politicians and historical figures compare on the page, or take the test to see how close you are to this profile.
Where South Korea sits
- 01Ownership+50PublicPrivate
- 02Markets+40PlannedFree
- SharedSelf-reliant
- 04Authority-75DemocraticStrong leader
- 05Security-35LibertyOrder
- LocalCentral
- 07Morality-40ProgressiveTraditional
- 08Religion-75SecularReligious
- 09Technology-65EmbraceCaution
- 10Culture+20MulticulturalNational identity
- 11Trade-20GlobalProtected
- CooperationStrength
Scores come from laws, budgets and institutional indexes, not from polls or the party in power. How country profiles are built
Who is closest to how South Korea is governed?
Each percentage compares a person's documented positions with the country's current profile, on the axes both have on record. A high score means their views match the status quo. A low one means they would change more.
Governed most like South Korea
How close are you to South Korea?
Your 12 Axes result ranks the countries governed most like your answers, next to ideologies, figures and politicians.
Take the testSouth Korea: questions
What is South Korea's type on the 12 axes?
Read from its laws and institutions, South Korea comes out as MLPG (Free-Market Cosmopolitan). The type takes one letter per family of three axes: Economy, State, Society and World. It describes how the country is governed, not what its people think.
Which figure from South Korea is closest to how it is governed today?
Of the people from South Korea profiled here, Kim Dae-jung sits closest to its current policy profile, at 91% on the axes both have on record.
Which countries are governed most like South Korea?
On the 12 axes, Japan is closest at 87%, followed by Czechia at 86%. The comparison uses the same country profiles as the country match on your 12 Axes result.