"Is Poverty an Individual Responsibility?" Why Do Poor People Keep Making 'Small Purchases'?

"Poverty as a Personal Consumption Issue" vs "A Socio-Structural Problem"
One in Four Seoul Citizens Say "Low Chance of Improving Socioeconomic Status"
Experts Say "Some Lack Empathy and Criticize"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "Are you saying that my poverty is because of my spending habits? Isn't that discrimination too?"

Recently, consumption trends such as 'So-hwak-haeng' and 'Ga-sim-bi' have been spreading mainly among the 20s and 30s millennial generation (those born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s).

So-hwak-haeng is a term that first appeared in 1986 in a novel collection by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, meaning small but certain happiness. Ga-sim-bi refers to a consumption behavior that values psychological satisfaction. Professor Kim Nan-do of Seoul National University's Department of Consumer Studies cited this as a consumption trend in 2018.

Amid this, recently on SNS and online communities, claims have emerged that such consumption habits encourage poverty, sparking controversy. The argument is that small spending on delivery food and hobbies is the cause of poverty.

One netizen wrote on their Twitter on the 10th, "To save 100 million won from age 20 to before 30, you need to save 840,000 won per month," and said, "Stop spending money on idols and boyfriends."

Citizens who saw the post raised their voices, saying, "Rather, small spending continues because of poverty." They pointed out, "The less economic leeway one has, the less capacity there is to plan for the distant future, so they focus on small spending right in front of them."

A university student A (25), who is about to graduate this year, said, "When I see such claims, I don't even get angry, just feel empty. Doesn't it show in the sentence that the person grew up in a really affluent family?" and added, "If I want to save 100 million won by 30 in my current situation, I have to save about 25 million won every year. That means saving more than 2 million won every month, but considering I have to bear student loans, monthly rent and utility bills, and living expenses for my parents, do you think this is possible?"

This is not the first time poverty has been blamed on individuals. Last October, when the delivery app 'Baedal Minjok' introduced the 'total order amount inquiry' feature for three days, the same situation occurred.

At that time, netizens posted on their SNS the total order amounts ranging from a few million won to tens of millions of won, reacting with comments like "The amount is huge when you add it up. Shocking." In response, some netizens criticized, saying, "Look at how much they spend on delivery food," and "There is always a reason why someone is poor."

Some argued that it is due to a social structure that makes it impossible to have hope for the future.

According to a survey, one in four Seoul citizens believes that social mobility is impossible even with effort.

According to the '2018 Seoul Survey' released by Seoul City last May, 27.7% of respondents answered "low" to the question "Is there a possibility that social and economic status will improve with effort?"

For the same question, 48.3% and 24% answered "average" and "high," respectively. The number of respondents who answered "low possibility" exceeded those who answered "high" for the first time since the survey began in 2011.

An office worker B (29) said, "Who doesn't know that regular savings can become a lump sum?" but added, "Even if I want to save, after deducting rent and loans, I can only save about 100,000 to 200,000 won per month. And if my parents or I suddenly get sick, it disappears immediately." He continued, "Given this situation, honestly, I don't think I can ever own a house even if I work my whole life," and added, "So I think it's better to enjoy what I really want to do or eat when it comes up."

Experts analyzed that the controversy arose from a lack of empathy for others.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology said, "Poor people naturally cannot make large purchases, so they make many small purchases," and added, "People who need to prioritize food expenses or living costs do not have the luxury. Saving is something that people do only when their situation allows."

She explained, "Because their situation is so desperate, they try to enjoy even small happiness."

Regarding some who criticize poverty as a problem of individual consumption, Professor Kwak said, "It is due to a lack of empathy," and pointed out, "Also, they criticize others by saying, 'I don't spend even if I have money, but that person spends recklessly even though they don't have money,' thinking their own values are right and finding satisfaction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.