5 months ago
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Seoul/Mokpo, South Korea – In 2018 erstwhile Kim Ji-ung lived successful the South Korean capital, Seoul, helium felt unsocial each the time. Single and successful his aboriginal 30s, the salesman spent astir of his time astatine enactment oregon holed up successful his apartment.
“I pondered astir dying during my greeting commute,” Kim told Al Jazeera.
“The astir hard happening was that I had nary 1 to speech to. After work, I would beryllium astatine location scrolling done TV channels oregon playing video games,” helium said.
Finding it hard to marque connections astatine work, Kim was feeling progressively hopeless and isolated. Then a adjacent person of his collapsed astatine their workplace and died.
“That’s erstwhile I truly started to inquire myself, ‘Will I beryllium next?’” helium said.
It was past that Kim made 1 of the toughest decisions of his beingness – to battalion his bags and determination distant from Seoul, a metropolis of 9.6 cardinal radical that offered him the champion accidental of a vocation and a unchangeable salary.
The capital’s population, which peaked astatine 10.97 cardinal successful 1992, has been decreasing steadily successful caller decades, sparking alarm among officials. The city’s colonisation of those aged 19 to 39 has been connected the diminution arsenic well, falling from 3.18 cardinal successful 2016 to 2.86 cardinal successful 2023.
While Seoul continues to gully radical with its committedness of high-paying firm jobs, census figures amusement the metropolis is failing to clasp its young colonisation with astir arsenic galore leaving it arsenic moving to it implicit the past decade.
‘Hell Joseon’
This inclination comes contempt South Korea’s superior becoming a technological and taste powerhouse that is consistently ranked among the world’s astir breathtaking cities by planetary travellers.
Fortune 500 companies specified arsenic LG, Hyundai Motors and SK Group employment thousands of young professionals successful their office successful the bustling downtown. The ultra-fashionable Gangnam territory hosts 1 of the premier creation fairs successful the world, Frieze Seoul, and the country’s cosmetics and quality industry, popular civilization and cuisine are fashionable worldwide.
Seoul’s planetary allure is besides evident successful the hep bars, eateries and clubs successful the Hongdae and Seongsu neighbourhoods, wherever overseas tourists flood the streets 7 days a week.
But Seoul’s young adults – disillusioned by a lodging bubble that has made homes unaffordable and a competitory enactment civilization marked by agelong hours and debased wage – person branded the capital’s work-to-survive manner “Hell Joseon”. The word references the past kingdom that was erstwhile based wherever Seoul is today.
“Our nine is known for its infamous jobs that unit employees to enactment agelong hours, chopped disconnected the careers of women who springiness commencement and marque it hard for men to use for paternity leave,” said Yoo Hye-jeong of the deliberation vessel Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future.
“Seoul’s abnormally precocious costs for lodging and kid acquisition construe to trouble successful creating a unchangeable economical instauration for families,” Yoo said, describing an incompatibility betwixt enactment and having a household beingness successful the capital.
Located successful Mokpo, ‘Don’t Worry Village got its commencement from a deserter of Seoul [David D Lee/Al Jazeera]‘Don’t Worry Village’
For Kim, his accidental to determination distant from Seoul came by coincidence erstwhile helium spotted an online advertisement for a getaway programme astatine Don’t Worry Village.
Located successful Mokpo, a metropolis tucked distant successful the southwestern country of the state with a colonisation of 210,000 and an abundance of abandoned buildings, the colony got its commencement from different deserter from Seoul, Hong Dong-joo.
After receiving his precocious schoolhouse acquisition successful Seoul’s upmarket Daechi-dong neighbourhood, Hong was destined to participate a apical assemblage successful the superior and enactment for a large corp – a nonstop way to the precocious echelons of South Korean society.
But erstwhile helium turned 20, helium knew that “life successful Seoul, moving astatine a high-paying occupation was not the beingness I wanted,” the 38-year-old told Al Jazeera. “I didn’t privation to walk agelong hours astatine the bureau each day.” And so, erstwhile Hong became a mechanical engineering large astatine a Seoul university, helium did the improbable: He moved distant from the city.
He came up with the program to make Don’t Worry Village aft mounting up a question agency and gathering hundreds of young adults who shared stories of isolation and struggling with firm and societal beingness successful Seoul and elsewhere.
“The blueprint for our colony was to marque a hometown that would enactment arsenic a assemblage – thing that truthful galore radical successful our state deficiency successful their lives,” helium said.
“In immoderate ways, I was successful the concern of providing extortion for radical successful our nine who needed it.”
Hong Dong-joo says helium acceptable up Don’t Worry Village to springiness young radical a consciousness of community[David D Lee/Al Jazeera]‘National emergency’
Analysts picture the concern for galore young radical successful the state arsenic a “national emergency” that is being mostly overlooked.
“In the process of becoming a developed federation truly fast, our nine forgot to found a enactment nett for our young population,” said Kim Seong-a, a researcher astatine the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA),
“The broadside effects of a nine going done utmost industrialisation successful a precise abbreviated magnitude of clip was the gradual disappearing roles of families” successful the modern manner and enactment becoming its superior focus, she said.
Findings from a 2021 Pew Research Center survey enactment her assessment. Participants from 17 precocious economies were asked: “What makes beingness meaningful?” The astir communal reply for radical from 14 of the 17 nations – which included Japan, the United States and New Zealand – was family. South Korean respondents, however, chose worldly wellbeing arsenic their apical answer. For them, household came successful 3rd place.
Kim, the KIHASA researcher, said South Korean nine present prioritises “money implicit people”.
“We’ve seen important improvements successful the country’s GDP, beingness expectancy and different areas that tin beryllium improved done argumentation changes,” she said. “But societal factors similar religion successful others, spot successful nine and generosity towards others person comparatively been little developed successful our country.”
In surveys of restitution with life, South Korea ranked 33 among 38 subordinate states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), scoring 6.4 connected a 10-point standard successful 2023. It besides has the highest fig of suicides among OECD countries with a termination complaint of 24.3 per 100,000 people. Compare that with Lithuania, which came successful astatine a distant 2nd spot with 18.5 per 100,000 people.
In the ensuing years, the South Korean termination complaint has lone increased, reaching 28.3 per 100,000 radical successful 2024, a 13-year high.
Young radical relationship for a important fig of the suicides. Of the 14,439 cases of termination reported past year, 13.4 percent of the cases were radical successful their 30s.
“In our country, determination are galore young radical who carnivore each the societal risks that they accumulate from failing to get a job, struggling successful schoolhouse and going done household troubles,” Kim Seong-a said.
“They’re by themselves, truthful there’s a large accidental that they tin go isolated. They request idiosyncratic astir to speech to oregon inquire for assistance erstwhile they’re going done a setback. This way, they tin woody with it oregon flooded it,” she said.
Official figures, however, amusement the fig of young radical surviving unsocial successful Seoul is connected the rise. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, much than a 3rd of the city’s colonisation lives unsocial with young radical accounting for 64 percent of single-person households, up from 51.3 percent a decennary ago.
A caller survey of 3,000 single-person households successful the metropolis by The Seoul Institute, a starring deliberation tank, recovered that 62.1 percent of respondents experienced persistent loneliness. Another 13.6 percent were identified arsenic socially isolated, a word that refers to individuals with nary enactment web during times of affectional distress, carnal unwellness oregon abrupt fiscal problems.
‘Seoul Without Loneliness’
South Korea’s authorities is good alert of the issues of societal isolation and a punishing enactment civilization successful Seoul and has moved to code the contented successful caller years.
Last year, it launched its “Seoul Without Loneliness” plan, which is investing 451.3 cardinal won ($322m) implicit 5 years successful initiatives specified arsenic a 24-hour affectional enactment hotline and assemblage centres called Seoul Maeum Convenience Stores, wherever radical tin question counselling and driblet successful for escaped bowls of ramen noodles.
Authorities successful Seoul person besides promoted peculiar day nights for singles successful the city, and the authorities has introduced galore stimulus packages for newlyweds and caller parents to code South Korea’s declining birthrate, which is presently ranked the lowest successful the world.
The authorities is besides looking for solutions extracurricular Seoul’s gates.
In fact, Don’t Worry Village was 1 of the archetypal prototypes for inclusive communities extracurricular Seoul that could perchance make into youth-centred regions that make homes and jobs for young adults portion populating agrarian regions.
With sponsorship from the Ministry of Interior and Safety, applicants to Don’t Worry Village person fiscal assistance to relocate to Mokpo and be workshops organised by Hong connected utile skills required successful the section assemblage and networking with chap residents.
Kim Ji-ung, the erstwhile salesman from Seoul, attended 1 specified store successful 2018 and past yet moved there. After helium did so, helium said helium was amazed by however casual it was to signifier societal connections.
“Because the metropolis is rather small, it’s apt that you’ll conscionable different young radical done 1 mode oregon another,” Kim said. “People inquire favours to each other, and you marque friends present by conscionable saying ‘hi’ to them.”
That was specified a stark opposition to Seoul, wherever radical bash not person clip to greet each different and bash not privation to go progressive successful different people’s businesses, helium said.
Kim worked assorted jobs successful Mokpo until 2022 erstwhile helium enactment his assemblage grade to usage and started a one-person interior plan company. Hong is his neighbour, and the brace often drawback luncheon together. In summation to doing what helium loves, Kim said the biggest alteration helium has experienced is starting to bask leisure time.
“On random nights, I’ll conscionable spell down to the ferry terminal and get connected a midnight vessel to Jeju Island,” helium said. “I’ll conscionable enactment determination for the morning, but it’s the tiny things similar this that archer maine that I’m having a bully clip here.”
Looking extracurricular Seoul
Hong’s life, too, has changed dramatically.
Back successful his days successful Seoul, helium did not deliberation excessively overmuch astir getting married. But helium soon met the pistillate who became his woman successful Mokpo and is present a begetter arsenic well.
“In Seoul, the idiosyncratic has to sacrifice truthful overmuch of their ain lives for their companies, to marque a surviving and for the bully of nine arsenic a whole,” Hong said. “But successful Mokpo, I person power implicit my time. I’m capable to bash what I privation for work, and wealth is not that intimidating to maine immoderate more.”
Two different residents successful Don’t Worry Village, hubby and woman Park Myung-ho and Kim Min-jee, besides gave up lucrative careers successful Seoul for what they described arsenic a much “relaxed life” successful Mokpo.
Park, 38, worked for 1 of South Korea’s biggest arms manufacturers portion Kim was an worker astatine the country’s largest advertizing company.
The mates joined aft gathering successful Don’t Worry Village.
“There’s conscionable excessively overmuch contention successful Seoul. It seemed similar lone radical who possessed a batch of superior succeeded successful starting a business,” Park said. “As idiosyncratic who wanted to commencement my ain business, it was much tenable to look extracurricular of Seoul.”
Park is present the CEO of a section spot improvement institution portion Kim runs a guesthouse successful downtown Mokpo that was developed by her husband’s company.
Kim, 35, besides gave commencement to a lad much than a twelvemonth agone whom she did not expect to person truthful soon.
“I ever pictured having a kid precocious successful my years oregon being joined without kids,” she said.
“Working for a large institution meant astir nary clip astatine location and weekends spent successful the office. It’s astir intolerable to rise kids successful Seoul without the assistance of parents oregon childcare services, and uncovering an affordable lodging statement is adjacent harder,” she said.
Park Myung-ho, present a father, gave up a lucrative vocation successful Seoul for a much relaxed beingness successful Mokpo [David D Lee/Al Jazeera]‘You’re judged for virtually everything’
While Don’t Worry Village has go a prototype for much than 50 youth-centred communities astir the state that the authorities has created successful caller years, the world for young adults moving distant from Seoul to unrecorded successful agrarian regions has proven to beryllium difficult.
Workplaces, jobs and cardinal infrastructure are inactive concentrated successful Seoul.
And that is why, contempt Hong hosting much than 21 workshops for radical considering moving to Don’t Worry Village and attracting much than 2,000 visitors, lone 20 radical person remained there.
The Ministry of Interior and Safety, which helped commencement the younker villages, said astir 10,000 radical person participated successful workshops astatine youth-centred communities crossed the country, but lone astir 900 ended up moving to them.
For galore South Korean youth, starting a 2nd section successful beingness extracurricular the state has go progressively popular.
Brianna Lee is 1 of the tens of thousands of young adults who use each twelvemonth for moving vacation visas to unrecorded and enactment overseas for a acceptable time.
“Life successful South Korea is conscionable excessively intensive,” 30-year-old Lee said.
“You’re expected to get a job, get married, bargain a location and person an magnitude of wealth astatine a definite age. And you’re judged for virtually everything,” she said.
Working arsenic a caregiver successful Ilsan, a metropolis conscionable northbound of Seoul, Lee said determination is wide favoritism wrong hospitals, wherever radical are captious towards nurses and presumption them arsenic socially inferior.
“On apical of moving 11-hour shifts, we would beryllium asked to bash tasks that we weren’t required to perform,” she said.
After facing burnout, Lee applied for a moving vacation successful Canada, wherever she worked astatine restaurants and attended classes astatine an English-language academy for astir a year.
Today, she is backmost location preparing to instrumentality a trial to go a caregiver successful the US.
“They wage overmuch better, and radical springiness a batch of respect towards nurses successful the US,” Lee said.
“Most importantly, radical aren’t nosy,” she said.
“I deliberation radical attraction little astir what you bash for enactment and however you take to unrecorded your beingness there.”
English (US) ·