Recently, I’ve learned more about the plight of Korea’s “sampo” generation. Sampo refers to those young adults who have forgone dating, marriage and children. The Institute for Family Studies estimates that 40 percent of young Korean adults, nearly half a million people, fit this description. This is also true in other Asian and global countries. It doesn’t bode well for birthrates, the provision of pensions, mature age social insurance downstream and many other things. But is it as bleak as many documentaries and stories claim? Korean young adults are more self-focused. This is different and not in conformity with Korea’s deeply rooted Confucian and filial relations. But it’s not necessarily antithetical, either. If past ways don’t get me to where I want to go, I need to think and try different things by myself. Focusing on oneself is a reasonable response when typical ways don’t work out. There aren’t enough well-paying jobs in Seoul and other major cities, and the limits of Korea’s Seoul-centered development path continue to create social costs in some big ways. If
From ‘sampo’ to ‘jamsimanyo’
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