'Soaring House Prices, Employment Decline, and Widening Education Gap'... A Self-Portrait of South Korea in 2021

'Societal Trends in Korea'... House Prices Up 26% in 1.5 Years, Sejong Soars 72%
Employment Rate Declines... Male College Graduates -12%p, Female High School Graduates -14%p↓

Six in Ten Koreans Fear Social Criticism After COVID-19 Diagnosis
Eight in Ten Say 'Economic Inequality' Is the Most Serious Social Issue

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

"House prices are soaring, the job market is tight, and the poorer you are, the harder it is to receive private education."

This is the picture of Korean society in 2021 revealed by statistics. Due to the widening educational gap and shrinking employment, the opportunities for citizens to realize their "dream of owning a home" have decreased.

Six out of ten people fear social criticism after testing positive for COVID-19. Eight out of ten see "economic inequality" as the most serious social problem arising from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

'Private Education Gap' Widens According to Family Circumstances

On the 19th of last month, at Konkuk University Alumni Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, parents were seen examining the placement chart based on the mock CSAT scoring results during the 2022 College Entrance Regular Admission Strategy Briefing hosted by Jongno Academy. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to "Social Trends in Korea 2021" released by Statistics Korea on the 10th, the higher the level of school education, the greater the gap in private education participation time depending on the family's economic situation. This means that the "education gap" was more severe in high school courses than in elementary school curricula.

As of July last year, after the domestic spread of COVID-19, the difference in the proportion of students whose "private education participation time increased" between the high ("sang") and low ("ha") economic groups was 5.9 percentage points (p) in elementary school, 6.9 p in middle school, and 9.9 p in high school. The higher the education level, the wider the "private education gap" according to family circumstances.

Educational Disparities After COVID-19 by Household Economic Status. (Data from Statistics Korea)

There was also a significant difference in the ability to handle non-face-to-face and digital education depending on family circumstances. In elementary, middle, and high school, the proportion of students who "did not understand the content in online classes and just moved on" was higher in families with poorer economic conditions. In particular, among middle school students, the group with low ("ha") economic status (25.3%) was more than twice as high as the high ("sang") (8.5%) and middle ("jung") (9.8%) groups.

The proportion of students "disturbed in class due to device performance" was more than twice as high in the low economic group compared to the high or middle groups. It was 28.9% in elementary school, 33.0% in middle school, and 27.1% in high school.

Youth Employment Hit Harder by COVID-19 Than Middle-Aged

The employment door for vulnerable youth has narrowed. The impact of COVID-19 was stronger on youth employment than on middle-aged employment. As of March last year, middle-aged employment fell by 0.8 percentage points compared to the same month a year earlier, while youth employment dropped by 1.2 percentage points.

The proportion of contract and part-time workers with contracts of one year or less among young people's first jobs after graduation. (Source: Statistics Korea)

Among youth, the employment rate of job seekers within one year of graduation decreased more sharply. For males, the decline was greater among those with junior college or higher education, while for females, it was greater among those with high school education or lower.

During the second wave of COVID-19 (August-September) last year, the employment rate of males who graduated from junior college or higher immediately after graduation fell by 12.1 percentage points compared to the same period the previous year. For females with high school education or lower immediately after graduation, the employment rate dropped by 14.4 percentage points during the first wave (March-April) and 14.9 percentage points in October-November of the same year.

House Prices Rose 26% in a Year and a Half... Sejong Soared 72%

View of apartment complexes in downtown Seoul as seen from Namsan, Seoul on the 3rd. (Image source=Yonhap News)

Opportunities to earn money were given, but house prices just kept rising. From January last year to June this year, housing sale prices increased by 26%. Sejong surged by a whopping 72%, and the metropolitan area also rose by 28%.

By housing type, apartment prices rose 33%, row houses 12%, and detached houses 7%.

Monthly Housing Sales Price Change Rate. (Source: Statistics Korea)

After COVID-19, apartment sales volume exceeded 100,000 units in June, July, and December last year. This is interpreted as having a stronger correlation with policy implementation than with the spread of COVID-19.

As real estate prices rose, buying demand strengthened, and combined with the prolonged low interest rates, household loans more than doubled from 794 trillion won in 2010 to 1,630 trillion won last year. Compared to the previous year, it increased by 8.3%.

Six Out of Ten Citizens Fear Being a 'Nuisance' More Than Testing Positive for COVID-19

On the 9th, medical staff are seen transferring a patient at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Six out of ten citizens fear being stigmatized as a "nuisance" in society after testing positive for COVID-19 more than contracting the virus itself. From last year to August this year, the perception of COVID-19 risk showed that the "seriousness of consequences caused by infection" was consistently perceived as higher than the "possibility of infection."

Among the "affect heuristic" factors that cause people to feel risk due to personal emotions rather than objective hazard information, the scores for "possibility of catastrophe" (4.08 points) and "risks caused by human activities" (3.98 points) were relatively high. The "uncertainty of COVID-19 causes, progression, and treatment" also rose from 3.72 points in January last year to 3.92 points in October, ranking high.

The left side shows attribution of responsibility for COVID-19 infection, and the right side compares fear of COVID-19 infection confirmation and stigma. (Data from Statistics Korea)

The tendency to blame individuals for COVID-19 infection has decreased over time. Since June last year, the fear of stigma has been decreasing more than the fear of testing positive.

However, as of August, the response rate related to fear of stigma reached 56.5%, indicating that citizens still feel anxiety about social criticism following infection confirmation.

80% of Citizens Say 'Economic Inequality' Is the Most Serious If COVID-19 Prolongs

On the afternoon of the 8th, a notice of business closure was posted at a restaurant on the streets of Hongdae, Seoul. (Image source=Yonhap News)

Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery of individuals' restricted daily lives was 47.2 points as of August, not even reaching half the level before COVID-19. From March to August, over 85% of the entire population reported stress and fatigue caused by the prolonged pandemic.

The left side shows awareness of the worsening social inequality issue due to COVID-19, and the right side shows opportunity inequality in response to COVID-19. (Data from Statistics Korea)

In the August survey, an overwhelming majority (79.7%) identified "economic inequality" as the most serious social problem that would worsen due to the prolonged COVID-19. This was followed by "health inequality" (31.4%) and "education inequality" (25.1%). In October last year, "religious conflict" was ranked third but has since been replaced by "education inequality."

Among opportunity inequalities in COVID-19 response, "opportunities to be compensated for economic damage caused by infection spread" (43.3%) was the highest. Perceptions of inequality generally increased by 2.2 to 7.4 percentage points compared to October last year.

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