Over Half of the Population Believe "Low Social Mobility for the Next Generation"

54% of Citizens Say 'Low Possibility of Their Children's Social Mobility'
Lower Classes More Negative About Children's Social Mobility Prospects

More than half of the people in our country believe that the possibility of upward social mobility for the next generation is low. In particular, those who perceive their own socio-economic status as low tend to view the likelihood of their children moving up the social ladder as also low.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the "2023 Social Survey Results" released by Statistics Korea on the 8th, among the population aged 19 and older, 54.0% responded that the possibility of upward social mobility for the next generation is "low." This is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the same survey in 2021. On the other hand, those who believed the possibility of social mobility was "high" accounted for 29.1%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from two years ago.

The result shows that more than half of the population views the possibility of their children’s upward mobility as low.

Especially, the lower people perceive their own socio-economic status, the lower they view the possibility of their children’s social mobility.

Among those who consider their status as "upper class," 45.9% responded that the possibility of their children’s social mobility is "low," while 46.8% responded it is "high." This indicates that those who think the possibility is high are somewhat more numerous.

In contrast, among those who consider their status as "middle class," more than half, 53.3%, responded that the possibility of their children’s social mobility is low. Among those who consider their status as "lower class," an even higher 55.8% viewed the possibility of their children’s social mobility as low.

This is interpreted as reflecting the perception that current social inequality will deepen further in the next generation.

61.6% of the Population Think Their Socio-Economic Status Is 'Middle'... Increased by 2.7% Compared to Two Years Ago

Among the population aged 19 and older, 61.6% consider their socio-economic status as "middle," an increase of 2.7 percentage points compared to two years ago. Those who consider their status as "upper" also increased by 0.3 percentage points to 3.0%. Conversely, those who consider their status as "lower" decreased by 3.0 percentage points to 35.4%.

By income, among those with a household income of 5 million KRW or more per month, over 70% viewed their status as "middle." Among those with a household income of 2 to 3 million KRW, 53.2% saw themselves as "middle," and among those with 1 to 2 million KRW, 42.4% also considered their status as "middle."

7 out of 10 Elderly Live Separately from Their Children... 76% Provide Living Expenses Themselves

Among elderly people aged 60 and older, 68.4% currently live separately from their children. Additionally, 78.8% responded that they do not wish to live with their children in the future.

The main reason for living separately was "because it is comfortable," cited by 37%, followed by "independent living is possible for themselves or their spouse" (29.6%) and "concern about being a burden to their children" (19.6%).

The number of elderly participating in economic activities has also increased. Among those aged 60 and older, 76% answered that they or their spouse mainly provide living expenses, which is an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared to two years ago and 12.4 percentage points compared to ten years ago.

Among the population aged 19 and older, 69.7% responded that they are preparing for old age, with 59.1% of them saying they prepare for old age through the National Pension, the highest proportion.

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