Korea Social Science Data Archive

Korea

 The Korea Social Science Data Archive (KOSSDA) is one of the most prominent institutions for data archives in South Korea, and it leads in collecting datasets and promoting their secondary usage.

 KOSSDA was founded in 2006 with the aim of acquiring, preserving, and disseminating Korean social science data and reference materials. Since June 2015, KOSSDA has been managed by the Asia Center at the University of Seoul, as part of efforts to maximize the synergy of education and research, and to develop the organization into a major international data agency.

 KOSSDA maintains and offers around 2,500 datasets that cover various fields such as politics, economics, sociology, psychology, cultural study, and social science. It has about 2,300 datasets, including those from the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) and the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study, and approximately 200 qualitative data materials in different formats, such as texts, audio, video, and images, covering research on local communities, political and social movements, poverty, siblings, and migrant laborers abroad.

 KOSSDA conducts surveys and analyzes the current conditions and circumstances of Korean society utilizing a vast network of experts and human resources, thus enabling scholars to foresee future changes and the transition of society. It also organizes a digital database with the aim of preserving important outcomes of academic studies and surveys in the field of social sciences.