Lately, I’ve viewed a number of videos and online reports on the state of income inequality in South Korea. According to a consensus of experts, matters are worsening for the working class in Korea, particularly for younger Koreans. With what many commentators have referred to as “Hell Chosun,” I used to sit aghast and wonder what they might mean. However, I no longer have those doubts. The situation is a call to action for all Koreans, but in particular those of the ruling party.
It’s hard to watch older Koreans living in cubicles of rundown tenements and abandoned housing units. It’s hard to see educated young adults hiding from bill collectors and talking about how they game the system to survive. All of these things accelerate "han" and contribute to a lessening of mental and physical health among Koreans at both the start and end of their adult lives. True to the life of all societies, not everyone wins in the path of progress. A society that wishes to decrease its sunk costs and increase its half-life needs to attend to those who could extend its open horizon further.
Too many Koreans cannot afford even modest housing. This has been a concern for older adults, ever more isolated in nuclear family remnants. A walk around Seoul reveals that the problem plagues Korea’s largest city, but it is a national problem. In November 2025, youth employment hit a record high. A 2025 report by Goover.ai suggested increasing vocational and job initiatives, expanding digital literacy, combating youth mental health indexes and making the issues of young adults a higher collaborative priority as necessary reforms.
But now, younger Koreans have taken to maxing out lines of credit and credit cards to afford their lifestyles. Too many spend in excess of their incomes, but fewer and fewer can afford jeonse deposits and more live in housing that is sub-standard. They forgo paying bills and are dodging debt collection and other types of actions.
The cost of living in Seoul is soaring, but there are not enough good-paying jobs for prospective workers. Youth employment is particularly stressed. The ruling party, with support from the conservatives, urgently needs to create and fund a plan for the development of cities and surrounding regions throughout Korea to deepen and broaden the economy. If more centers existed besides Seoul, there would be economic growth of a more balanced sort in areas with a lower relative cost of living.
Likewise, what is going on with the plan to develop more anchor universities in Korea’s provinces other than Gyeonggi? Each and every province of Korea needs to see the creation of or addition to the stock of “national universities.” Much of the nation's development has hinged on the work of Seoul’s big three universities (Yonsei, Korea and Seoul National), and there are major players right with them. However, there is nothing like this kind of engine needed in other regions.
I read and viewed reports that the boom that had been in Busan is veering toward a bust. This is a related problem. Why isn’t Korea’s second-biggest city a higher priority for investment, R&D inputs and economic articulation? Many articles and blogs speak of “sprawl,” “overcrowding” and Seoul as “full.” But there is too little at work or in planning to do anything about it.
The problems concern income support and economic articulation for younger Koreans and policies to alleviate the suffering of older people. They also involve reform of housing policies, affordability programs, basic employment and job creation. The ruling party and regional and local administrations have a great deal of work to do. Meanwhile, elite-centered narratives about greenbelt development and the construction state (see Laam Hae and Jamie Doucette’s article, “The Construction State Unbound,” in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research). The somewhat contested but still dominant narrative for development by the mainstream and better-off segments of Korean society will continue to situate unacceptable costs for the public interest.
There are similar challenges for young adult populations in many countries, including that of the United States. The tide of progressive change has yet to really gather steam, let alone crest in an era of progressive reforms. Here’s hoping that younger and older Koreans on the left and right will identify the critical needs for 21st-century economic development in Korea’s advanced society. With so much already accomplished, it’s time to deepen and broaden the coverage of good jobs and housing, as well as social supports, for the next generations of Koreans as well as for the older generations.
Bernard Rowan ([email protected]) is associate provost for contract administration and academic services at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a past visiting professor at Hanyang University’s Graduate School.
Source: Korea Times News
