"Same MZ Generation..." Rural Youth Earned 2.15 Million KRW Less Per Month Than Urban Youth

Rural Youth Household Income at 68% of Urban Youth... Assets at 53% Level
Assemblyman Choi Chun-sik Urges Government for Active Measures to Improve Rural Youth Income and Quality of Life

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] This year, the average monthly household income of rural youth was found to be less than 70% of that of urban youth. The asset gap is even more severe, with rural youth assets slightly over half of those of urban youth.

According to survey data obtained on the 2nd by Choi Chun-sik, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee from the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the average monthly household income of rural youth (aged 19-39) this year was 4.59 million KRW. Labor and business income accounted for 3.86 million KRW (84%), public transfer income 270,000 KRW (5.8%), private transfer income 100,000 KRW (2.1%), and property income 360,000 KRW (7.8%).

On the other hand, the average monthly household income of urban youth was about 1.5 times higher than that of rural youth, at 6.74 million KRW. Labor and business income were 4.99 million KRW (74%), public transfer income 370,000 KRW (5.4%), private transfer income 290,000 KRW (4.3%), and property income 1.09 million KRW (16.1%).

High-income earners were more common in urban areas, while low-income earners were more prevalent in rural areas. Among rural youth, the highest response rate (21.1%) was for a total monthly household income between 2 million and 3 million KRW. The proportion responding with "less than 2 million KRW" was also as high as 16.2%. In contrast, only 16.4% reported a monthly income of 7 million KRW or more.

Conversely, among urban youth, the highest response rate (25.2%) was for a total monthly household income of "7 million KRW or more." The proportion responding with less than 2 million KRW was 12.6%, lower than in rural areas.

While the income gap between urban and rural youth was significant, the asset gap was even larger. The average assets of rural youth were 182.99 million KRW, which is 159.9 million KRW less than the average assets of urban youth (342.89 million KRW). This means the average asset size of rural youth is only about 53% of that of urban youth.

Representative Choi stated, "With rural areas facing the risk of extinction, attention and support for youth living in rural areas are necessary," and added, "I will urge the government to take active measures so that the income level and quality of life of rural youth can gradually improve."

The survey was conducted by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, commissioned to Gallup Korea, through a questionnaire survey of 1,800 urban and rural youth aged 19 to 39 over four weeks from July 27 to August 22 this year.