• Long commutes lower positive affect and intensify negative emotions. • Homeownership magnifies commuting stress, eroding its initial benefits. • Stability from ownership can shift into stress under long commutes. Residential location shapes how much time people spend commuting, and in many cities this daily travel has become a major influence on subjective well-being. This study examines how commuting time and homeownership interact to affect emotional well-being in South Korea, where long commutes and intense housing pressures characterize urban life. The analysis uses nationally representative data from the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Korean Happiness Survey, which together include nearly 50,000 respondents. Hedonic well-being is measured through reported levels of positive and negative affect, and regression models with region and year fixed effects estimate both the independent association of commuting time and how these associations differ by tenure. The results reveal a clear asymmetry. Longer commutes are associated with increases in negative affect, including worry, sadness, anger, stress, fatigue and loneliness. Homeowners initially report lower levels of negative affect than renters, but this advantage diminishes as commuting time increases. Predicted values show that the difference between owners and renters begins to disappear at around one hour of daily travel, suggesting that the stability associated with ownership can become a source of strain under demanding commuting conditions. Overall, the findings indicate that the benefits of ownership depend on broader spatial and temporal contexts. They also underscore the need for more integrated housing and transport policies that reduce commuting burdens and enhance residential flexibility, both of which are important for improving public health, social equity and everyday emotional well-being.
Lee et al. (Sat,) studied this question.