It was found that 1 in 2 young people living in Seoul are in a state of 'poverty.' Single-person households were particularly vulnerable. Additionally, 47.5% of young people lived with their parents, known as the 'Kangaroo tribe.'
According to the '2022 Seoul Youth Panel Basic Analysis Results,' a follow-up survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Institute in 2022 on 5,083 Seoul residents aged 19 to 36, following up from 2021, the asset poverty rate among young people living in Seoul was 55.6%.
Asset poverty refers to having assets less than three months' worth of 50% of the median income (based on 2021, annual income of 15.87 million KRW), meaning assets below 47.61 million KRW.
The asset poverty rate among young single-person households was 62.7%, 7.1 percentage points higher than the overall youth asset poverty rate. The institute analyzed this as revealing the vulnerability of single-person households living in Seoul.
27.7% of young people reported having experienced a shortage of living expenses. When asked how they resolved the shortage, 41.2% said they received free support from their parents, and 17.7% said they resolved it by using savings, deposits, or canceling installment savings.
Among Seoul youth, 47.5% responded that they live with their parents. Single-person households accounted for 34.4%, and other households 6.9%.
The average expected age of independence for youth living with their parents was 30.6 years. By age group, the expected age of independence was 27.4 years for ages 19?24, 30.8 years for 25?29, 35.3 years for 30?34, and 39.0 years for 35?36, showing a tendency for the expected independence age to increase with age.
Among Seoul youth, 87% were unmarried, and among unmarried youth, 46.5% intended to marry, while 19.1% did not intend to marry.
Among Seoul youth, 65.8% were employed. One in four youth (25.6%) were in a 'NEET' state, neither working nor receiving education or training.
By age group, the NEET rate was highest at 33.6% for ages 19?24, followed by 26.1% for 25?29, 20.0% for 30?34, and 18.5% for 35?36.
34.7% of the surveyed Seoul youth reported experiencing depressive symptoms. Among non-enrolled and unemployed youth, 44.3% reported depressive symptoms, and 42.0% of unemployed youth reported the same. Approximately 3.4% of youth were in a physically isolated state called 'hikikomori,' having not left their home for more than three weeks in a month. The most common reason for not leaving home was 'voluntary choice' (55.9%), followed by 'mental difficulties' (36.4%), 'interpersonal difficulties' (24.1%), and 'failure to find employment' (20.8%).
Analyzing life satisfaction across 13 areas including living standards, health, life achievements, and safety, the average life satisfaction score among Seoul youth was 5.9 out of 10. The highest satisfaction was in 'family relationships and my safety' (6.8 points), and the lowest was in 'my economic level' (4.7 points). Life satisfaction tended to decrease as age increased.
The institute stated, "Analyzing changes in life over the past year based on major indicators for 3,762 respondents who answered both in 2021 and 2022, economic and housing indicators such as personal income and asset poverty, NEET indicators, and positive future outlook indicators have deteriorated compared to last year's survey," and recommended, "Income support and employment support for youth should be increased."
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