"'Leaving Hell Joseon' Despairing 2030 Still Dream of 'Escaping Joseon' [Heo Midam's Youth Report]"

75% of Youth "Want to Leave Korea"
Increase in Young People Seeking Jobs Abroad... 1,679 in 2014 → 5,783 in 2018
Experts: "Young Generation Stressed by Employment Difficulties and Excessive Competition"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] [Editor's Note] How is your youth remembered? From teenagers to college students and office workers, we deliver the joys and sorrows unique to 'youth.'

"A country where effort doesn't pay off, I want to leave 'Hell Joseon.'"

Office worker Kim (28, female) answered "yes" when asked if she thinks of Korea as 'Hell Joseon.' She lamented, "Once you're born with a 'gold spoon,' you're always a 'gold spoon.' For someone like me, a 'dirt spoon,' even if I save my salary, after paying off student loans and monthly rent, money is always tight."

She continued, "Life feels like a daily grind, but it's not always smooth. Even when I work overtime to try hard, I often get scolded by my boss. Also, I get very stressed when asked personal questions unrelated to work, like 'Why don't you have a boyfriend?' or 'Are you going to live alone forever?'"

Kim said, "If circumstances allow, I want to leave Korea. In high school, I was stressed about entrance exams, but now just going to work is stressful. Abroad, you don't have to worry about others' eyes, and there's no 'Kkondae culture' (authoritarian senior culture), right?" she complained.

Like Kim, many young people think of Korea as 'Hell Joseon' due to employment, wealth, and workplace stress. 'Hell Joseon' is a compound word of 'hell' and the Joseon Dynasty, meaning 'Korea is already hell and has become a caste society like the Joseon era.'

Given this situation, some young people are turning their eyes to overseas jobs and dreaming of 'escaping Joseon.' Experts analyze that young people exhausted by excessive competition and other factors eventually move abroad.

More than half of the young generation surveyed considered Korean society to be 'Hell Joseon.'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The hardships of youth are also reflected in survey results. According to a study conducted last year by the Korean Women's Development Institute on 5,000 adult men and women titled 'Diagnosis of Gender Conflict from the Youth Perspective and Policy Responses for an Inclusive Nation: Gender Analysis of Fairness Perceptions,' 83.1% of young respondents thought Korean society was 'Hell Joseon.'

The response rate for 'I want to leave Korea if given the chance,' i.e., 'escaping Joseon,' was 75.4%, and 85.3% agreed that 'dirt spoons cannot catch up with gold spoons.'

As a result, many young people complain of stress. College student Kang (25) said, "The stress of finding a job is severe. As my friends start getting jobs one by one, my anxiety has increased. I'm doing everything I can, like grades, TOEIC, and certifications, but I'm still worried about the future."

She added, "My parents' generation said that if you work hard, you get rewarded accordingly. But now the situation is different. It's tough because of the employment crisis, and with COVID-19 on top of that, I don't know if there will be a company willing to hire me."

Some young people exhausted by the job market dream of 'escaping Joseon.' They exchange opinions on online communities such as overseas employment cafes or upload videos on YouTube titled 'Pure Koreans who succeeded in overseas employment,' 'Reasons and ways to escape Hell Joseon,' and 'Required English proficiency level for overseas employment,' sharing related information.

In the comments section of these videos, opinions supporting 'escaping Joseon' are pouring in, such as "I also escaped Joseon. Even if everything abroad is more inconvenient than Korea, just not having Kkondae culture, hierarchical obedience, office politics, overtime, and company dinners reduces stress," "Except for public safety, everything in our country is Hell Joseon. There's no answer when trying to find a job. Loans are a given to get a house. And it's not an environment suitable for raising children," and "If I were born again, I wouldn't want to be born in Korea."

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the number of young people turning their eyes to overseas jobs is increasing. According to the annual employment statistics from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, the number of young people employed overseas was 1,679 in 2014, increasing every year to 4,811 in 2016 and 5,783 in 2018. This is nearly double compared to three years ago.

Job seeker Lee (25) said, "I went to the Netherlands as an exchange student during college. In Korea, you inevitably have to care about others' eyes, from makeup to clothing," adding, "When I was in the Netherlands, I didn't worry about others' opinions. I liked the culture of recognizing and respecting each other's differences."

She continued, "Also, since foreign countries don't have a formal speech culture like Korea, I think there wouldn't be 'Kkondae' in the workplace. Once COVID-19 ends, I will immediately challenge myself with overseas employment."

Experts analyze that excessive competition in Korean society has influenced young people's 'escape from Joseon.' Professor Kwak Geumju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology said, "Young people are leaving our country due to various factors such as the employment crisis and excessive competition," adding, "Young people also think their future is not hopeful. They believe that no matter how hard they try, nothing will change."

She added, "'Spoon class theory,' such as 'gold spoon' and 'dirt spoon,' also reflects the mindset of the younger generation. The idea that you need a certain level of inherited wealth to succeed underlies young people's thinking. The saying 'a dragon rises from a small stream' is now an old tale," pointing out, "Ultimately, exhausted young people turn their eyes abroad."

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