This study examines perception of intergenerational mobility in South Korea. Previous studies have shown the existence of discrepancy between reality and perception of intergenerational mobility; people tend to exaggerate the intergenerational persistence of socioeconomic status such as income and occupation. Measurement errors as well as real difference may explain such exaggeration. In this study, I utilized an innovative survey instrument developed by Cheng and Wen (2019) to measure perception of social mobility. I found the followings. First, there is substantial discrepancy between reality and perception of intergenerational income mobility. Similar to the American pattern (Cheng and Wen 2019), the rank-rank slope of income mobility was steeper in perception than reality. Second, people particularly over-evaluate intergenerational persistence of income ranks at the bottom and the top of the distribution. Third, perceived rank-rank slopes of income differ by age groups, occupations, and subjective classes. The implications of discrepancy between reality and perception of intergenerational mobility and differential rank-rank slopes are discussed.

Bongoh Kye is an associate professor of Sociology at Kookmin University. Before joining Kookmin University, he was a Frank H.T. Rhodes postdoctoral fellow of Cornell Population Center at Cornell University. He completed his Ph.D. in Sociology at University of California – Los Angeles. His area of expertise includes social mobility, population aging, family changes, and historical demography. His works have been published to peer-reviewed journals such as Social Science Research, Social Stratification and Mobility, Demographic Research, Population Research and Policy Review, and The History of the Family.