Earning 500,000 Won a Month but Exam Fees Cost 100,000 Won... The Tearful 'Survival of High Prices' for 20s and 30s

"Switching to Altteul Phone, stopping delivery food, saving with secondhand trading"
May consumer price inflation rate 5.4%... Highest in 13 years and 9 months
Experts "Price increases will continue until the end of this year"

In the third quarter of this year, domestic food prices in Korea rose by 5.0% compared to the same period last year, marking the fourth highest increase among OECD member countries. According to Statistics Korea and the OECD on the 5th, Korea's food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in the third quarter (July to September) increased by 5.0% compared to the same period last year. Although the prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, collectively known as food prices, stabilized in October, slowing the increase to 1.6%, both agricultural, livestock, and fishery products and processed food prices surged again in November, rising to 6.1%. The photo shows a large supermarket in downtown Seoul on the 5th.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] # A, a 20-year-old college student preparing for employment, has a particularly determined attitude toward the upcoming TOEIC exam. He said, "I spent over 100,000 won just this month on exam fees for certifications like TOEIC and the KBS Korean Language Proficiency Test," adding, "I really hope to get a high score this time and stop taking exams." Many job seekers who urgently need even 5 or 10 language test points often take the same exam multiple times, which can cost them hundreds of thousands of won in exam fees alone. For A, who earns about 500,000 won a month from weekend part-time jobs, the exam fee burden is a 'big mountain' to climb.

Recently, among the 20s and 30s generations, there has been active sharing of so-called survival tips in the era of soaring prices, such as "surviving the high inflation era," "saving and saving again," and "posting proof of deleting delivery apps." Those hit hard by so-called "lunchflation" (lunch + inflation) are not only deleting delivery applications but also sharing information about promotional side dishes.

Meanwhile, job seekers still preparing for employment are going through even tougher times as language exam fees rise. In April last year, the TOEIC exam fee increased by 7.8%, from 44,500 won to 48,000 won, and in March this year, the HSK, a Chinese proficiency test, raised fees by 5,000 to 20,000 won depending on the level.

The TOEIC Speaking exam fee will jump from 77,000 won to 84,000 won starting this July. When including expenses for textbooks, academy fees, and online lectures, the burden on job seekers grows even heavier.

Additionally, the soaring cost of meals is a major concern for the 20s and 30s generations. Along with rising dining-out prices, expensive delivery fees have become a significant burden on their thin wallets.

According to the Seoul Institute's report on consumer sentiment and delivery service usage in Seoul for the first quarter of this year (January to March), 3 out of 10 Seoul citizens said they reduced their use of delivery services due to increased delivery fees. Also, about 52% of Seoul citizens who did not use delivery services in the first quarter cited economic burdens caused by rising prices of delivery food and delivery fees as the reason.

The scene of Myeongdong Food Alley in Seoul on the 14th./Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

In this situation, the tearful efforts of the 20s and 30s generations to tighten their belts and reduce living expenses continue. They are trying various ways to save money, such as using budget phones to reduce communication costs and buying goods cheaply through secondhand trading.

Choi (27), a young worker, recently switched his mobile phone plan to a budget phone. Although his two-year contract had ended, the main reason was to reduce fixed expenses. Changing from a plan costing in the high 70,000 won range to a budget phone plan cut his expenses by about half to the 30,000 won range. He said, "I used to insist on a carrier plan because of data, but I found out that budget phone plans also offer ample data. Nowadays, Wi-Fi is good, so I switched to a cheaper budget phone plan."

The number of budget phone subscribers like Choi is increasing. According to wireless communication service subscription statistics announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 7th, LTE budget phone subscribers have steadily increased by about 200,000 each month since December last year.

Saving money through secondhand trading is another method. Yoon, a college student who collects perfumes as a hobby, said he sells perfumes he has collected on secondhand trading platforms whenever his allowance runs low. Also, Park (27), an office worker, said, "I sell unnecessary items to supplement my living expenses and buy needed items cheaply through secondhand goods to save money." Recently, Park purchased not only a skateboard and keyboard for hobbies but also exercise equipment like a foam roller cheaply through secondhand trading.

Used transaction history of Mr. Park. He purchased a skateboard and a keyboard, which are necessary for his hobbies, cheaply as secondhand items. Photo by Mr. Park

Experts diagnose this phenomenon as a kind of austerity policy among young people. They explain that by reducing delivery orders and focusing only on essential expenses, they are enduring the high inflation era.

Professor Lee Eun-hee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "As prices rise and the lives of ordinary people become difficult, various attempts to reduce spending are being made. Since essential expenses cannot be reduced, people try to cut back on discretionary spending such as quitting delivery food, reducing communication costs, and taking relatively inexpensive vacations."

Professor Lee predicted that the 'tight finance (Jjantech)' trend among the 20s and 30s generations will continue in the second half of the year due to the bleak economic outlook. He said, "High inflation is not unique to Korea but a global phenomenon, and since the new government has just taken office, it is difficult to expect an immediate response from economic policies. Inflation is expected to continue until the end of this year."

Meanwhile, according to Statistics Korea, last month's consumer price inflation rate was 5.4%, the highest in 13 years and 9 months. The living cost index for daily necessities rose 6.7%, the highest, and the dining-out price index also jumped 7.4% compared to the previous year.

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