People walk on the street in Seoul in this undated file photo. (Yonhap)
SEJONG, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – More than half of South Koreans believe that the younger generation has a lower chance of climbing the social ladder.
In addition, seven out of 10 elderly people live separately from their children, and eight out of 10 of them earn their living independently.
Statistics Korea announced the results of its 2023 social survey on Wednesday. Among the population aged over 19, 54 percent said that the younger generation has a lower chance of climbing the social ladder, which is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to two years ago. In other words, more than half of South Koreans believe that their children have a slim chance of ascending the social ladder.
The percentage of those who believe the younger generation has a higher chance to climb the social ladder stood at 29.1 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from two years ago, while 17 percent responded with ‘don’t know.’
Individuals who perceive their social and economic status as low tend to believe that the younger generation has a lower chance of climbing the social ladder.
Among those who consider themselves in the upper class, 45.9 percent said that the younger generation has a lower chance of climbing the social ladder. However, among those who see themselves in the middle or lower class, the percentage of those who said the younger generation has a lower chance of climbing the social ladder was higher at 53.3 percent and 55.8 percent, respectively.
Regarding a question about the possibility of upward mobility for their own generation, 59.6 percent said ‘low,’ significantly higher than the 26.4 percent who said ‘high.’ However, the percentage of those who said ‘low’ decreased by 1 percentage point compared to two years ago.
A majority of young adults in South Korea perceive the problem of “asset inequality” in our society to be serious. In a 2021 survey conducted by a research institute affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, young adults living in Seoul (those aged 20-39) said that asset inequality and income inequality are the most serious problems, followed by housing, employment, and education. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
Among the population aged over 19, 61.6 percent consider their social and economic status as ‘average,’ an increase of 2.7 percentage points compared to two years ago, while 3 percent perceive it as ‘high,’ a 0.3 percentage point increase. On the other hand, the percentage of those who consider it ‘low’ declined by 3 percentage points to 35.4 percent.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
