Korean youth's evolving attitudes towards work
By Leah Dietle (@leahrd__)
South Korea gained enormous global attention in recent years through K-pop and dramas. Since then, Korean culture, cuisine, fashion, and beauty have all collectively contributed to the famous slogan "I · SEOUL · U", attracting millions of tourists to their capital. The exposure also raised immigrants' interest in choosing Korea as a destination for work or study.
But even with this economic success, many young adults who are flooding into the job market face enormous challenges and stiff competition. The unemployment and depression rate among young adults in Korea has increased since 2020. This unrest sparked a further division between generations regarding work values and societal expectations.
Critiques from Millenials begin with an introduction to newer terminology. The term konndae (꼰대) references the older generation with condescending attitudes towards young people. Younger generations also started arguing for better work-life balance with the word worabel (워라벨). The desire for more individualism, self-expression, and horizontally structured work and social environments naturally contradicts the nationalistic, collectivist, and hierarchical values of the older generation.
Current world events have functioned as a catalyst across the globe for infrastructural changes, inspiring our future leaders to question their existing systems. Where are we failing in our societies? How can we fix these issues?
“I have no idea what our society wants from young people any more. There are so many contradictory expectations. They want us to be more positive, work hard, achieve our dreams, but also have a family and give birth, and contribute to the nation.”
After college, young adults must begin to transition into the next stage of their life. This means further autonomy and starting the process of finding a job. Yet, employers in Korea increasingly demand more qualifications beyond a bachelor's degree.
"We need to prove that we're good enough to work in certain positions. Lots of certifications are required, such as a bachelor's degree, GPA, official English grade (TOEIC, TOEFL, OPIC, etc.), and relevant experiences that reflect your interest and familiarity with the assignments you'll have if you got the position," Chloe, 23, explains. "The main reason it's so hard is that most of our educational backgrounds and experiences are pretty similar due to our environment and history. So, employers are setting higher and higher requirements to set people apart. It's very competitive."
The hiring process in Korea is finally starting to reflect the global system. "It's pretty similar to the rest of the world now," DS, 25, tells us. "In the past, employers here usually wanted to see where applicants are born, their last name, and their universities (지연,혈연,학연). But these days, we're doing more blind hiring."
The competitive nature of the hiring process normalised the phenomenon of obtaining certificates or "specs" [스펙] in addition to degrees. "Most people look on job sites like JobKorea, but since there are too many candidates and fewer reputable companies, people are getting more specs to increase their chances of getting hired by a better company." Zoe, 25, shares. "But even if we have higher specs, that's only for examining your history. Major companies require taking additional exams, and only those who pass the exam can take the job interview. And there are two steps in the job interview, so there are four steps in total. It is very difficult."
Easier access to intercultural communication exposes younger generations to viewpoints that differ from what they hear in their home countries. More specifically, it encourages people to question and analyse the ideas around them and identify with the ones they find the most appealing, even if it goes against the current cultural consensus.
The goals of young workers are changing too. They are increasingly diverging from the expectations of society. Some younger Koreans feel alienated by the countless yet monolithic expectations that exist. "To be honest, I have no idea what our society wants from young adults considering there are so many contradictory expectations," Chloe admits, "They want us to be more positive, work hard, achieve our dreams, but also have a family and give birth, and contribute to the nation. My goal is to work to change how people live in this society. There's still a wide range of blind spots we have to acknowledge to make things better."
Others embrace challenging the status quo more directly. "I'm not sure about this since I don't care about what society expects," DS tells us, "But I am sure about one thing: I only care about myself, my family, and my close friends."
The younger Koreans who can identify these issues in their society are taking the initiative to make changes in their personal lives and, potentially, their children. "In Korean society, women's rights are still very low. Most of the older or even some younger people think housework is a woman's charge," Zoe shares, "It's very hard to change their way of thinking, so I want my future kids or my husband not to limit their thinking of gender limitations."
Attitudes towards finances are changing too. The younger generations in Korea practise investing in startups and crypto-currencies to ensure future income. "The younger generation tends to invest their money even if they don't make a lot," Chloe explains, "I don't invest for now because I'm paying off my loans, but I can understand why they do it.
Of course, technology plays a significant role in generational experiences. "Younger generations are more used to using electronic systems like kiosks." Zoe says, "Younger people are more positive, open, and receptive to social changes like reshaping gender issues. But older generations are still very conservative."
The strict hierarchies that shape life in Korea are also present in the workplace. "Within companies, there are extreme hierarchies between positions, and there are glass ceilings that must be eliminated," Chloe states. "Although employers say they don't look at applicants' academic history as much, many people still experience discrimination based on their academic background after joining the company. I think a fairer and more transparent recruitment process is needed."
Korean workplaces will continue to change as technology advances, yet many people are sceptical that a cultural paradigm shift will happen anytime soon. "I think more and more workplaces will become automated. Workers will be replaced by machines that make procedures more simple like kiosks." Zoe remarks. "I don't think Korean culture will change in a big way because of its strong national identity, but maybe we'll be more open to gender issues and finally less pressure on people to get married."
Easier access to intercultural communication exposes younger generations to viewpoints that differ from what they hear in their home countries. More specifically, it encourages people to question and analyse the ideas around them and identify with the ones they find the most appealing, even if it goes against the current cultural consensus.
South Korea's strong cultural identity is closely linked with a sense of national pride and the lingering influences of the Confucian hierarchal structure. This makes the development of counter cultures more difficult to form. Despite this, countercultural expressions in South Korea among the youth have become more prevalent with time.
While countercultural expression within any country can result in mixed outcomes, it's undeniable that positive countercultural movements can facilitate ingenuity in the arts, technology, activism, and more. We will see new generations of independent artworks, films, exhibitions, music, and literary arts expressing these ideas in Korea.
We can expect aspiring leaders to advance new ways of changing professional environments, create new services as solutions for unique issues, and develop movements and projects that can potentially destigmatise characteristics viewed previously as negative. Not every project will explicitly challenge the status quo, but the act of self-expression and push for more individualism in itself showcases a growing change of values in Korean youth.
As the millennials emerge to prominent professional leadership positions, we will begin to see more horizontal structures reflected in the workplace and thus simultaneously reflect in interactions outside of work.
By utilising our globally interconnected environment, we can reach out and provide anyone with the opportunity to have a platform to share and express their ideas, opinions, and innovative talent.
