An empty university campus during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. As remote classes continued for a fourth consecutive semester, face-to-face interaction declined sharply, and values centered on community began to weaken. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Young adults who began college at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic are less likely to pursue ambitious life goals and more inclined to focus on getting through the present, according to a new longitudinal study that suggests a lasting shift in values among Korea’s so-called “Covid generation.”
In a report released Wednesday, the Korea Educational Development Institute analyzed responses from more than 4,100 students who entered university in 2021, during the peak of the pandemic.
It found that 39 percent fell into a “low-aspiration” category — defined as having no clearly defined life goals and showing weak commitment to pursuing a range of values. That marks a sharp increase from 26 percent among first-year college students surveyed in 2011.
By contrast, the share of “high-aspiration” students — those with strong long-term ambitions — fell to 6 percent in 2021 from 12 percent a decade earlier.
The proportion of students in the middle category also declined. Researchers interpreted the shift as evidence that more young people are choosing to concentrate on immediate survival rather than future success.
University students studying in a campus library (Yonhap)
Even among students classified as highly aspirational, priorities have changed. In 2011, freshmen ranked family harmony and interpersonal relationships as the most important life values.
Among the 2021 cohort, honor and personal growth topped the list. The importance attached to material wealth also rose significantly over the decade.
The study suggests that the pandemic generation places greater emphasis on individual achievement and status, while showing weaker commitment to communal values.
Across all measures related to relationships, average scores declined. Students reported meeting friends less frequently, initiating contact less often and placing less importance on spending holidays with family.
Researchers said the early adult years are critical for the formation of long-term values, and that the disruption of campus life, prolonged social distancing and economic uncertainty during the pandemic likely reshaped priorities. Isolation and stress, they noted, may have reinforced a more individualistic outlook among students whose formative years were marked by crisis.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
