Housing expenses represent the biggest monthly financial burden for four out of 10 people in their 20s and 30s in South Korea. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Housing expenses represent the biggest monthly financial burden for four out of 10 people in their 20s and 30s in South Korea, according to a recent survey, highlighting the challenges of expensive housing costs for young adults in the country.
The poll of 1,547 people in their 20s and 30s, conducted from May 11 to 17 by Station3, which runs the real estate platform Dabang, found that 40.2 percent of respondents cited rent or home payments as the expenditure weighing most heavily on their finances each month.
Grocery costs came in a distant second at 19.4 percent, followed by expenses for shopping and dining out at 13.2 percent. Outlays for pensions, insurance and savings were ranked fourth at 6.6 percent.
Over half of the respondents — 50.9 percent — said their housing cost burden felt either “high” or “very high.” The strain was particularly acute for those renting month-to-month, with 41.9 percent evaluating it as high compared to 41.3 percent of those paying annual lump-sum deposits for rental units who rated it as average.
For the month-to-month renters, a sizable 20.3 percent went so far as to describe housing costs as a very high burden.
With home prices in Seoul having surged over 50 percent in the last five years, many young South Koreans have been pushed into cheaper neighborhoods away from the city center or into cramped studio apartments known as officetels or gosiwon.
Moving to a less expensive residence was the top-cited potential solution for easing housing costs, named by 31.2 percent of poll respondents. But 22 percent said they saw no good alternatives for moderating the burden.
Supplementing income with a side gig was the third-ranked option at 21.5 percent, while some were contemplating converting to an annually renewable deposit rental contract (12.3 percent), borrowing from parents (4.8 percent) or taking out loans (3.7 percent).
The findings reflect the daunting financial pressures facing South Korea’s younger generation at a time when property prices remain high despite a slowing housing market. Over half the survey respondents rented month-to-month, versus just under a quarter who rented annually. Forty percent lived in studio units.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
