This article resonates deeply with young Koreans who feel the pressure of high expectations, rising costs (especially housing), and intense competition, despite official economic indicators. It validates their lived experience of feeling economically insecure.
A recent article from the Financial Times, widely shared and discussed in Korea, is sparking a heated debate about why young people feel economically disadvantaged despite official reports of rising wages. The core argument, penned by FT's chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch, highlights the 'aspiration gap' – a phenomenon where people's satisfaction with their economic standing is less about their absolute income and more about their relative position compared to peers and past expectations.
The article explains that society has inadvertently created a situation where the aspirations of younger generations are sky-high, but their ability to realistically achieve them hasn't kept pace. A major culprit? The expansion of higher education. While well-intentioned, the increasing number of university graduates has shifted the average degree holder from an economic elite to a common majority. This means today's graduates, despite earning more than their parents did at the same age, often find themselves lower on the socioeconomic ladder than previous generations of graduates, leading to deep dissatisfaction.
This 'aspiration gap' isn't just for degree holders. The article points out that as more young people go to university, those who don't are increasingly marginalized, seeing their relative status decline compared to both their peers and their non-graduate parents' generation. Essentially, while material abundance has increased, the relentless competition and the pressure to constantly prove one's worth in a 'survival-of-the-fittest' society mean that young Koreans are under immense stress, feeling like 'enough' is never truly enough.
🇰🇷 KOREAN REACTIONS 8
For us, it's definitely about relative wealth and the gap, not absolute numbers. So true.
It's the downside of social media. I think unhappiness starts when you compare yourself to others.
Only a few in the upper class got richer; most people are living similarly, and some are even worse off.
@LanguageAnalysis I think most people are living more abundantly than in the past.
@Ekd Life is all about relative comparison, so it's inevitable. Everyone might be living more abundantly than in the past, but people compare themselves to others and feel unhappy. Someone with a 2.5 billion won apartment in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, told me they felt poor... because most of their friends live in apartments in Seocho, Banpo, Jamwon (much more affluent areas).
@LanguageAnalysis There's a limit to relative comparison. It's too much these days.
Because everything else has gone up in price too, right? Like basic living expenses or housing prices.
Food quantity and quality have definitely improved beyond comparison to the past, and facilities and goods are better. But to secure basic living rights, you have to work harder than others, and constantly be on edge to avoid falling behind in competition. Even though things are more abundant now than in the past, it seems there's no limit to 'enough' in this competitive, survival-of-the-fittest society we've been in since school. So there's a lot of stress about not showing weakness to bosses or clients. And if you take some time off, there are harsh stares – that's the reality. As society develops, work gets harder and demands more specialization.