"Kkondae Are Basically Just Young 40s"...Does It Reflect Gen Z's Resentment of Asset‐Rich Men in Their 40s? [What Do You Think]

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[The Financial News] The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has drawn attention with an analysis of South Korea’s “Young Forty (Young 40) meme” – an online viral content trend centered on men in their 40s who try to look youthful.
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On the 18th (local time), BBC described South Korea’s Young Forty as "middle‐aged men dressed in street fashion with an iPhone in hand," and, citing interviews with Generation Z (Gen Z) in Korea, defined them as "people who try too hard to look young" and "people who refuse to accept that time has passed."
It singled out Stüssy T‐shirts, Nike sneakers and the iPhone 17 as symbols of the Young Forty look, adding, "In South Korea, the preference for the iPhone remains high, but Apple’s market share has fallen by 4% among Gen Z, while it has risen by 12% among people in their 40s."
Young Forty was originally a positive term referring to a trend‐sensitive, stylish middle‐aged lifestyle, but recently it has been used far more often in a negative way, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) memes and other online content. BBC pointed to younger generations’ resentment of South Korea’s uniquely strict age‐based hierarchy as the reason for this shift.
BBC explained, "In South Korea, even a one‐year age difference can serve as the basis for a social hierarchy, and when people meet for the first time, they usually ask each other’s age before deciding how to behave," and went on to analyze, "The Young Forty phenomenon shows that among South Korea’s younger generation, skepticism is growing toward the almost obligatory respect demanded for older people."
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The article notes that Young Forty is increasingly replacing the earlier slang term "kkondae," which was used to belittle authoritarian, old‐fashioned elders who insist on hierarchy and deference. It is also being interpreted as a way for Gen Z—pushed into relentless competition and finding it hard to secure stable jobs or buy homes—to mock the middle‐aged generation who enjoyed the high‐growth era, landed jobs, and accumulated assets.
In fact, according to the online analytics platform SomeTrend, the term Young Forty was mentioned more than 100,000 times online last year, and more than half of those mentions appeared in negative contexts, using words such as "old" and "disgusting." BBC also highlighted the emergence of the slang phrase "Sweet Young 40," used to mock middle‐aged men who hit on young women.
BBC additionally pointed out, through an interview with Sung Youl Gi, who turned 41 this year, that Young Forty also represents a "sandwiched generation" caught between Gen Z and older cohorts. He told BBC, "The previous generation was one that simply followed orders from their superiors, but the generations after us are the ones who ask, 'Why do we have to do it that way?'" He went on to say, "Having experienced both cultures, we feel stuck in the middle," expressing his frustration.
bng@fnnews.com Hee-sun Kim Reporter