One in two young South Koreans looking for work is already psychologically exhausted before landing a job. An analysis by the Federation of Korean Industries of the Office for Government Policy Coordination's 2024 Survey on the Lives of Young People found that 52.7% of unemployed young adults had experienced burnout. Among those who had been job-hunting for more than a year, the figure jumped to 61.8%. Burnout was also reported by 41.1% of young adults in temporary or daily-hire jobs, 1.4 times the rate among those in permanent positions at 29.6%. The leading cause was anxiety about their career path, cited first by 68.4% of unemployed young adults who had experienced burnout. It is troubling that young Koreans are losing the chance to dream about the future and breaking down emotionally as well.
Youth burnout cannot be blamed on individual psychological fragility alone. Much of it stems from structural problems in the labor market, where good jobs are scarce and young people must move from one short-term, low-paying position to the next. The average time it takes for young adults to land their first paid job also lengthened to 13.5 months last year from 12.6 months in 2020. Prolonged job searches breed frustration and helplessness, which in turn erode the will to find work — a vicious cycle.
Yet youth policy remains tilted toward cash allowances and short-term public jobs. Support that eases immediate hardship is necessary, but fiscal spending alone will not open the door to employment. Because the skills taught at schools and training institutions are disconnected from what companies need, young people cannot find jobs, fail to build careers and end up trapped in the same difficulty again. In 2024, training conducted at company worksites accounted for just 1.5% of total vocational training spending, far below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 11.7%. Vocational training spending as a share of gross domestic product is also relatively low.
The government has set next year's youth employment budget at 3.3 trillion won. With the figure up 27% from this year, the money needs to be concentrated on building real employability. More fundamentally, the wage gap between large companies and smaller firms must be narrowed, and the dual structure separating permanent employees from non-regular workers must be eased. Labor reform is essential — including a range of alternatives such as rehiring after retirement — so that an across-the-board extension of the retirement age does not eat into jobs for the young. What young people truly need is not charitable handouts but a job ladder that lets them dream of a future.
