Busan Transforms into a 'City of Youth and the Sea'... Youth Employment and Income on the Rise

Big Data Analysis Detects Signs of Slowing Population Decline

Youth employment and income in Busan have increased, and the rate of decline in the youth population appears to be slowing down. With recent improvements in both employment and income, and a decrease in the phenomenon of youth ‘disappearing’ from the city, Busan is expressing optimism. Analysts suggest that the economic activity structure of young people in Busan is undergoing significant change. Attention is focused on whether Busan, once stigmatized as a ‘city of the old and the sea’ due to youth outflow to the Seoul metropolitan area and rapid aging, can now secure new growth momentum and enter a ‘second golden era.’

In July last year, Park Hyungjun, Mayor of Busan, along with Busan city officials and businesspeople, posed in front of the camera at the Business Executive Meeting for the Era of 1 Million Regular Workers held at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

According to an analysis released by the Busan Metropolitan City government on March 20, based on recent official statistics and private-sector big data, there have been positive changes in the employment and income structure of the city’s youth. This analysis utilized big data on population derived from income and credit information. Unlike simple migration data, the study examined youth economic activity structures, income flows, and residential stability.

The analysis showed that the economic activity structure of Busan’s youth is changing. The proportion of unemployed youth has decreased, while wage-based economic activity has increased. The share of unemployed youth dropped from 44.8% in 2022 to 34.8% last year, a decline of 10.0 percentage points. During the same period, the proportion of wage earners rose from 37.9% to 45.0%, an increase of 7.1 percentage points. This indicates a shift in youth economic activity from unstable labor to a wage-based employment structure.

Individual income among young people has also increased. Notably, the average income of young people moving into Busan is higher than those leaving the city, suggesting that the economic foundation of youth settling in Busan is relatively stable.

Trends in Employment Numbers and Unemployment Rates of Youth (Ages 18-39) in Busan. / Source: Ministry of Data and Statistics Regional Employment Survey.

Employment Proportion of Busan Youth Workers by Status (2024). / Source: Ministry of Data and Statistics Regional Employment Survey.

The income stability of youth staying in Busan has also been confirmed. The income levels of resident youth are more stable than those who are mobile. This change is also evident in employment indicators.

The youth employment rate in Busan has steadily increased over the past five years. The employment rate, which was 58.0% in 2020, rose to 65.6% in 2024—an increase of 7.6 percentage points, surpassing the national average increase of 5.9 percentage points during the same period.

The proportion of regular employees among employed youth has also grown, indicating an expanding trend toward stable, wage-based employment. The share of regular employees among young workers in Busan increased from 65.3% in 2020 to 67.5% in 2024, up by 2.3 percentage points. This suggests that improvements are being made in both the quantity and quality of youth employment.

An official from Busan Metropolitan City stated, “Changes in youth income and employment structure are also affecting population flows,” explaining that “the decline in Busan’s youth population is now less steep than before.”

This is interpreted as a sign that, even amid ongoing concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, the outflow of young people from Busan is slowing down. The city government attributes these changes to the combined effects of expanded youth policies and transformations in the industrial structure.

The launch event for youth startups held at BEXCO in Busan in July 2025 is bustling with young job seekers and company representatives.

The Busan Metropolitan City government has recently expanded youth job policies, including support programs for employment at local companies and youth entrepreneurship. Programs connecting companies with young job seekers are also being operated, and projects to foster young talent linked to local industries are underway. As a result, jobs in sectors favored by young people, such as the digital and content industries, are also increasing.

Policies that create a favorable environment for young people to stay in the region are being actively promoted, including housing support and improvements to living conditions. The city believes these policies are contributing to youth settlement in Busan. As jobs and income bases become more stable, the likelihood of young people choosing to reside in the city is increasing.

In its efforts to make Busan a better place for young people to live, the city has implemented numerous policies. It has worked to attract both domestic and foreign investment, companies, and special zones. The city has established a future industry transformation fund to secure youth jobs and fostered an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Support initiatives—such as the ‘All Together for Life’ project to improve quality of life, monthly rent support, Hope Addition Housing Supply, Double Joy Savings Account, industrial complex commuter buses, and cultural passes—are all branded with the ‘youth’ designation at the forefront.

Employees from other regions are working at Asti Hotel, where the Busan Workation Hub Center has been established.

Busan’s signature policies, including the Workation project and the Busan Onna Youth Pass, have also played a key role in driving changes in population flow and city vibrancy indicators. The Busan Digital Innovation Academy is another notable initiative. For these projects, more than 150 billion won in national and city funding, as well as private investment, has been invested in 16 campus locations across Busan over the past five years, from 2022 through this year.

In response to the surge in demand for software talent amid accelerating digital transformation, Busan has operated this Innovation Academy as a recruitment-linked education support project aimed at nurturing advanced professionals in information and communications technology. The goal is to train 10,000 specialists in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data.

An official from Busan Metropolitan City commented, “We have differentiated ourselves from other local government academy programs by integrating, adjusting, and sharing curricula from various educational institutions, promoting these programs to encourage participation by local youth, operating a job support center for young people, organizing homecoming days for current students and alumni, and hosting job fairs by identifying youth-hiring companies.”

In addition to these projects, Busan plans to continue expanding youth-focused policies, with a commitment to further strengthening jobs, housing, and living environments.

Park Hyungjun, Mayor of Busan, stressed, “We will work even harder to ensure that young people can stay in Busan, nurture their dreams, and grow by providing more comprehensive support in terms of jobs, housing, and living conditions.”

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