This post is going viral because it taps into deep-seated frustrations among young Koreans regarding job scarcity and the perceived neglect by older generations and the government. It reflects a common sentiment that the '586 generation' has benefited disproportionately from Korea's economic growth, leaving younger cohorts to face a tougher reality.
🇰🇷 KOREAN REACTIONS 10
It's true that it's hard for young people to find jobs these days. I asked AI, and it said the biggest reason companies aren't hiring new grads is because of AI itself. But has the government abandoned youth? I don't think so; despite everything, welfare spending is probably highest for young people. Once you're middle-aged or older, there's hardly any welfare. It's more accurate to say corporations have abandoned youth, and it's also true that the government needs to do something.
They socially ostracized someone who said 'let's create a society where it's easy to get a job' (though that wasn't the only reason). After that, the idea that getting a job is purely about individual capability spread (because you couldn't agree with that person). So it became 'what can *you* even do?' For example, in my industry, some places used to have a 'no experience preferred' system for young people (I really wish they'd implement it, the industry is getting too old), but that completely disappeared.
Nah. The country *really* abandoned the 5060 workers. Young people have all sorts of youth welfare programs like the Youth Leap Savings Account (청년저축도약계좌) and Youth Passbooks (청년통장). But 5060s are often stuck earning 2 million won (~$1,500 USD) doing restaurant work or cleaning.
Young people are mistaken if they think Korea is a country for them just because they're coddled. Our political system is a democratic republic, so the side with the most voters inevitably holds power. By age, it's essentially a country for people in their 50s and 60s. Most politicians are that age, and it's actually amazing they even *pretend* to listen to the youth.
Exactly. In a democratic country, 50s and 60s are the majority, so it's natural for things to go their way, lol. It's majority rule, they've had it too easy. If young people are gonna whine, they should just have 3 kids each and push up their numbers, haha.
Yeah, you're right, the majority should have power. But if you have power, you also bear responsibility. Social responsibilities like the population cliff and pension depletion should also be borne by the majority, right? I hope the 50s and 60s will have 4 kids each and not collect their National Pension (국민연금) in the future.
I don't know about being abandoned, but it's definitely true that the 586 generation got incredibly lucky with their era, lol.
If the situation is like this, isn't it logically correct to go out and protest? This guy's logic is weird, lol.
I used to think that way too, but recently I changed my mind after seeing the National Pension (국민연금) returns. I clearly remember people laughing and telling me to shut up when I said Kospi (코스피) would hit 3,000 early last year. New tech could bring a huge productivity revolution and completely change the economic system we know, or the US could collapse within decades, bringing down Korea's export-dependent economy with it. If things get better, great for us; if they get worse, the Korean Won won't even matter. No one knows what the future holds, and it's not something we can figure out or solve by worrying about it now.
??: Are you saying the government should force corporations?! We should leave it to the market, the government shouldn't intervene!