Public Ocean Engagement in South Korea, 2017–2026: Trends and Social Inequalities

Public engagement with the ocean is increasingly important for sustainable ocean governance, yet long-run evidence on within-country change remains limited. We harmonise ten annual waves (2017–2026) of Korea Maritime Institute’s National Ocean and Fisheries Perception Survey. Because fieldwork-administration continuity is less completely documented for 2025–2026, primary longitudinal inference is based on the pre-discontinuity period of 2021–2024, with later waves treated as sensitivity extensions. Mean ocean interest fell from 57.5 in 2017 to 50.9 in 2021 and rose to 53.8 by 2024; the 2026 extension reaches 57.4. From 2021 to 2024, the composition-adjusted mean increased by 2.43 points, while observed changes in age, sex, and lived ocean experience accounted for 17.2% of the total increase. Both occupational and coastal experience remained positively associated with interest, but inequalities evolved differently. The coastal-residence gap changed by only +0.76 points (p = 0.503), the occupational gap narrowed by 4.90 points (p = 0.006), and the senior–youth gap widened by 4.01 points (p = 0.021). Extending the series to 2026 suggests different patterns in all three gaps, but these later results are interpreted cautiously. Evaluative beliefs form a highly coherent battery yet remain empirically distinct from general interest. Overall, the evidence indicates recovery without uniform equalisation and supports monitoring both aggregate engagement and its social distribution.