diff --git a/modules/openapi-generator/src/main/java/org/openapitools/codegen/languages/AbstractKotlinCodegen.java b/modules/openapi-generator/src/main/java/org/openapitools/codegen/languages/AbstractKotlinCodegen.java
index aa4015303392..bc582f756160 100644
--- a/modules/openapi-generator/src/main/java/org/openapitools/codegen/languages/AbstractKotlinCodegen.java
+++ b/modules/openapi-generator/src/main/java/org/openapitools/codegen/languages/AbstractKotlinCodegen.java
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ public String toDefaultValue(Schema p) {
             }
         } else if (ModelUtils.isStringSchema(p)) {
             if (p.getDefault() != null) {
-                return "'" + p.getDefault() + "'";
+                return "\"" + p.getDefault() + "\"";
             }
         }