Gangnam Perspective: Korea's Worrying 'Full-time Children'

There is a term called "full-time children." It is an awkward combination of words. "Full-time" means devoting oneself entirely to a specific job as the main activity for a living. There are full-time investors, full-time writers, full-time instructors and full-time YouTubers. Children, quite simply, are sons and daughters. Put the two words together, and it means playing the role of a son or daughter as one's main activity for a living.
This unfamiliar term emerged in China in 2023. At the time, China's youth unemployment rate stood at 21.3%, meaning more than two out of every 10 young people could not find jobs. The last safety net for young people pushed to the margins of society was their parents. Their daily lives consist of preparing breakfast and dinner for their parents, cleaning and running errands. In effect, they take on the role of managing the household like a full-time homemaker. The money they receive in return falls somewhere between wages and pocket money.
What began as a joke now starkly reveals the problems in Chinese society.
The problem is that this is also appearing in Korea. Young people who cannot find jobs are unable to leave home.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics' March economically active population survey, the number of unemployed people in their 20s came to 269,000, while the number in their 30s reached 189,000. The unemployment rates were 7.6% and 3.3%, respectively.
The numbers are troubling, but what is even more serious is that their will is being worn down.
As of the end of last year, the number of young people who were "resting" had exceeded 700,000. This refers to people who are neither preparing for employment nor actively seeking a job.
There are many reasons why young people are being pushed out of society. The shrinking number of opportunities caused by the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and efforts to raise the retirement age amid an aging population are among the many factors.
However, their isolation is not a voluntary choice.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, most respondents said they were resting because they lacked the experience employers wanted or because there were no jobs offering the wage level they sought. Young people are not refusing to work; they are being pushed out at the entrance to the labor market without even the minimum opportunity to get started.
The government also recognizes the seriousness of this issue. Since taking office, President Lee Jae Myung has repeatedly stressed that the youth employment cliff must be recognized as a national crisis, calling the resolution of youth problems a top priority of state affairs. But the sense of urgency on the ground remains cold.
Current employment policy is still focused on simply increasing the number of jobs. The wage gap between large corporations and SMEs remains more than twofold, and companies prefer experienced hires who can contribute immediately over entry-level workers.
Youth employment problems do not stop with young people themselves. If young people cannot enter the labor market, marriage will be delayed and childbirth will be pushed even further away. In February, the total fertility rate (TFR) rose to 0.93. That is a rebound compared with the time when it fell to the 0.7 range.
But when young people cannot get jobs and even independence is difficult, it is hard to expect marriage and childbirth to increase. It is like asking those who have not even reached the starting line to move on to the next stage.
At this rate, no rebound will last long. In the end, youth unemployment goes beyond an employment issue and becomes a problem that shakes the population structure.
As the president has called for, a realistic response is needed. Beyond simply increasing the number of jobs, conditions must be created so that young people can enter the market. Fundamental surgery is urgently needed, including housing support, subsidies for first-job entry and reforms to the dual structure between large corporations and SMEs.
If this warning is ignored, "full-time children" will no longer be a problem for only a few people, but a broader social issue. With the retirement age raised, the grim image of parents working outside while their children do the housework could become reality.
kkskim@fnnews.com Kim Ki-seok, Head of the Economy Department and Policy Division