Only three out of ten young people in South Korea are satisfied with their jobs and income, leaving overall life satisfaction among the lowest in the OECD. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Young South Koreans are reporting strikingly low levels of life satisfaction compared with their global peers, revealing a generational mood shaped as much by economic pressure as by a sense of dwindling possibility.
A government report released Tuesday shows that among waged workers ages 19 to 34, only 36 percent said they were satisfied with their working conditions in 2023. Satisfaction with pay was even lower: just 27.7 percent felt content with their wages, with those in their early thirties expressing the greatest frustration. Only 26.3 percent in that group said their earnings were adequate.
The numbers suggest more than simple workplace discontent. Financial disappointment appears to be bleeding into mental health. The suicide rate for young adults rose to 24.4 per 100,000 people last year—one of the highest among developed nations—underscoring the emotional cost of economic stagnation and relentless competition.
Just as striking is the erosion of faith in mobility. Barely 27.7 percent of respondents said they believed personal effort could lift them up the social ladder, and this belief waned steadily with age. In a country that long prized meritocracy and sacrifice, young Koreans are increasingly convinced that the game is not only hard but rigged.
Their overall life satisfaction was measured at 6.5 out of 10, placing South Korea 31st among the 38 OECD nations.
Only three out of ten young people in South Korea are satisfied with their jobs and income, leaving overall life satisfaction among the lowest in the OECD. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Demographic shifts mirror this broader sense of constraint. South Koreans aged 19 to 34 now account for just 20.1 percent of the population, down from 28 percent in 2000. Yet they are far more likely to live alone: one-person households among this group have nearly quadrupled, rising from 6.7 percent to 25.8 percent over the same period.
Marriage, too, has become less common. Among men aged 30 to 34, 74.7 percent were unmarried last year; for women, the figure was 58.7 percent. And even for those who plan to have children, the timeline continues to stretch. Women now have their first child at an average age of 33.1—more than six months later than in 2021, and the highest among OECD countries.
Taken together, the data portrays a generation suspended between high expectations and narrowing pathways, living in a country that has grown materially richer but, for many, emotionally poorer.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
