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 I don’t have enough money to rent an apartment, how can I raise a family, pay for private English lessons and all the other costs of raising children?
Yes, I think it’s a concern that many young Koreans don’t think it’s important to marry, but I think those numbers might change in 10 years for the same individuals, or for many of them. Investing in building for the future is important. I’ve seen videos about middle-aged Koreans who “go all in” only to work more than one job, 90 hours a week and end up suffering ill effects, even dying.
Many young adults have one or more of the following life characteristics: lack of a college degree, lack of a job that pays a living wage, two or more jobs, working more than 60 hours a week, self-isolation, food insecurity and housing insecurity. This is not an exhaustive list. In these circumstances, though, is it really sampo as a final life status? Perhaps. But many people say “no” today to something that makes sense, if the thought behind dating is marriage and a family. But tomorrow may be different, so it’s about waiting, or “jamsimanyo.”
It’s entirely possible that instead of this being the sampo generation, it’s a “jamsimanyo” generation — “Wait a minute!” It’s not easy to make a living, so why go ahead and marry and have kids if one lacks enough to support oneself? The sampo generation faces more competition for fewer living wage jobs and increased expectations for a higher standard of living. Real wages haven’t kept pace with inflation, and most young adults can’t expect to exceed their parents’ income attainments. Who would launch into dating, marriage and children in this reality?
What I’m suggesting is that Korea (and other countries, including the U.S.) are experiencing a generational change correlated with higher education attainments and longer life expectancies, but decreased relative real income attainments compared to prior generations. As a result, one rational outcome is delayed marriage, fewer children and longer periods of single living. Yes, this also may correlate with greater loneliness, self-isolation, coping mechanisms (poor and otherwise) and individualism. But the jury is still out as to how all these matters sort out.
When I was studying the Korean language, one of the phrases that stuck in my head was “jamkkanman gidariseyo,” which roughly means, “please, wait a moment.” I think that’s what our youth and young adults are telling us. Likely, many won’t remain single, though there’s nothing wrong with being single. It’s all about what we do with life in those statuses in respect to others and ourselves. Shin Go-eun, writing in an article titled “Late Marriage the New Norm in South Korea” for East Asia Forum last year, says that marrying in one’s 30s is a new social norm for South Koreans.
Of course, young Koreans are likely reformulating and changing social roles and relationships, to some extent, as well as overwriting existing social norms with their own ideas of traditional roles. One example would concern the growing workforce participation of educated Korean women in addition to men. This would mean two adults in a typical relationship might work and be outside the home, as opposed to just one. This will continue to change many things about Korean society and culture, most likely for the better. But this change would also be part of the present sampo reality as well.
I should also say that we shouldn’t valorize either marriage or single living. Both are legitimate ways to pursue life in a democratic society. Does Korea believe in that statement? If so, sampo likely just means jamsimanyo, okay? Many choose to see the clouds that mask the sun. But the sun shines behind and above all the clouds, and tomorrow’s sun remains a permanent possibility for young Koreans, now and always.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and academic services at Chicago State University, as well as a full professor of political science. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a past visiting professor at the Hanyang University School of Local Autonomy.