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MBTI test helps millennials, Gen Z, grappling with uncertain future, realize they are not alone

By Lee Hae-rin

Kim Yeon-ju, a 30-year-old housewife, recently took a personality test to figure out who she is.

"Just like many other people, I don't exactly know who I am," she told The Korea Times. "I sometimes wonder why I am like this, and am curious what makes me feel good or bad. I've taken several different types of tests to know myself better and the MBTI is one that I tried recently."

MBTI, which stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality test. People answer a questionnaire based on a personality theory developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs in 1943. It measures their preferences on Myers and Briggs' four dimensions of personality types.

Kim first took the test when she was in high school. Her homeroom teacher wanted to figure out her students' personality types. So under her guidance, all of her students took the test with a certified MBTI practitioner.

"I don't remember what my type was back then, but I was the only student having that type," she said. "My teacher explained what type of person I was based on the personality test which struck a chord with me. I attended a boarding school and suffered from a mild case of depression. I became emotional because I felt what my teacher had said to me was true."

Kim said she felt she was understood by others when hearing her teacher's explanation of the test results.

The MBTI personality test has become the newest fad among Koreans, particularly among millennials and Generation Z, better known as MZ in Korea.

A Hankook Research survey taken last December found that over half of Koreans have taken the MBTI test. Nine out of every 10 people aged between 19 and 28 responded they took the test, showing the personality type test has become a sensation among younger generations.

MBTI even became a presidential election issue. Candidates during the latest presidential race tried to woo younger voters by sharing their MBTI results online.

The digital avatar of then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol introduces himself as an ENFJ type among the 16 MBTI personality types during the 2022 presidential race. Captured from Internet

Then presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said his type is ENFJ, just like former U.S. President Barack Obama ― an altruistic protagonist and a natural-born leader with charisma and passion. His rival Lee Jae-myung also took the test but he only unveiled "partial" results of his test.

The MBTI craze among the younger generation, who are grappling with an uncertain future, reflects their desire for acceptance and comfort in knowing there are like-minded people out there, according to experts. Such a grouping of people into 16 different types makes them feel that they are not alone, helping them build a sense that they belong somewhere.

"Koreans have lived in constant competition ― the country has limited resources and geography, while its people feature a certain diligence and goal-oriented characteristic," said Lee Myung-jin, a professor of sociology at Korea University who authored "Korean's social identity."

According to Lee, people seek social and existential guidance while living in an environment with high anxiety levels. Consequently, they have grown keen on various personality indicators that provide them comfort.

Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University, agreed that personality indicators could lower people's anxiety levels by giving them a sense of identity and grouping them with similar individuals. Moreover, Koreans seek to not only understand their own personality traits, but also better understand their relationships with others in the community.

"Korea is a collectivist society that highly values a sense of belonging and community. Recently, the MBTI has been adopted as a tool to better understand others and help people figure out how they should interact with others, reduce conflicts and build synergy in their relationships," said Kim Jae-hyoung, a head researcher of the Korea MBTI institute.

The MBTI is not the first ― and probably won't be the last ― national sensation for a personality indicator. Koreans have seen previous cultural trends to classify themselves into groups based on certain traits.

In the early 2000s, the four blood types ― A, B, O, and AB excluding rhesus factor ― were the country's most popular way of categorizing people and predicting their personalities.

According to this system popularized in Japan, those with blood type A tend to be precise with details, considerate and timid, while type B are sociable but self-centered. People in the type O group are known to be passionate but quick-tempered and people with AB are considered logical and ambidextrous but sometimes condescending to others.