South Korea was ranked a meager 47th out of 59 countries in a recent survey on the best countries for expatriates to live in. 

That is according to Expats Insider 2021 from Germany-based group InterNations, in which over 12-thousand respondents compared 59 countries across the world in five categories-quality of life, career opportunities, finances, living costs and social relationships. 

South Korea’s latest ranking was an improvement from its 54th placement last year, but is not a match for the 13th place it once claimed in 2014. Since then it had continued to plunge and bottomed out at 55th in 2019 before edging up by a notch last year. 

The foreign respondents particularly cited their “discomfort” about living in South Korea, in regards, but not limited, to local cultures and language. 

Fifty-four percent of those surveyed said it is difficult to make friends with locals in the country, much higher than the overall average of 36 percent. 

The respondents gave the most positive assessments on South Korea in terms of quality of life with 84 percent of them praising the country’s low medical costs and 92 percent on the quality of medical services. 

Ninety-two percent of those polled gave high marks on the nation’s transportation system and safe environment while 51 percent negatively viewed its air quality. 

Taiwan topped the list for the third consecutive year, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Portugal. 

Japan was even behind South Korea at 54th place, while Kuwait, Italy and South Africa took the bottom three spots.