"Working Part-Time for Years at an Age When Others Become Team Leaders" Mental Health 'Red Alert' Amid Dual Burden of Caregiving and Studies [Youth Trapped in Caregiving]

③Between Caregiving and Social Life... A 'Precarious' Balancing Act
Concerns Over Neglected Studies and Career Interruptions Due to Long-Term Care
"Economic and Emotional Independence Are Also Important"

Editor's NoteThree years ago, the political slogans promising to swiftly enact support laws during the so-called 'caregiver murder' case?where a 22-year-old youth, driven by financial hardship and caregiving labor, caused his father's death?ended up being empty words. Instead, local governments stepped in, naming young people caring for elderly or ill family members as 'family care youth' and promising caregiving support policies. However, children who did not meet the age criteria for support were left in blind spots. Hoping that no more children will be deprived of care due to caregiving burdens, this [Youth Trapped in Caregiving] series diagnoses the caregiving labor of youth and contemplates the way forward.

Money was always an issue in the life of 33-year-old Woojeong. Her father lost contact when she was young, and her mother, diagnosed with schizophrenia and disabled in 2003, found it impossible to hold a stable job. Without the care of her grandmother and support from her uncle, growing up safely would have been difficult.

Woojeong realized her mother was different from others even before entering elementary school. Her mother would suddenly get angry, saying, "Those people were badmouthing me," or become frightened at the sound of airplanes, claiming a war was happening. Woojeong said being with her mother felt like being with a 5-year-old child.

The place where Woojeong and her mother lived was a semi-basement in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. They rented the house with a deposit of 5 million KRW and a monthly rent of 240,000 KRW. Although the house had poor sunlight and laundry was a chore in summer, it was the best Woojeong could afford in an era when the average monthly rent for a one-room apartment in Seoul approached 700,000 KRW based on a 10 million KRW deposit. Woojeong covers living expenses, her mother's hospital bills, and rent through a part-time job at a pharmacy (she has since moved to Dongjak-gu, Seoul, with assistance from the Seoul Welfare Foundation and LH).

A photo of Woojeong (right) and her grandmother. The grandmother, who had taken care of Woojeong since childhood, passed away five years ago. Photo by Woojeong

The reason her mother was hospitalized at a hospital four hours round-trip from home was the same. Although Woojeong had lived in Yangcheon-gu since childhood, she searched for cheaper options and moved between hospitals in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul; Gyeyang-gu, Incheon; and Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do. Without a car, to visit her mother, Woojeong must take Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo Airport Station, transfer to the Airport Railroad to Gyeyang Station, then switch to Incheon Subway Line 1, get off at Jakjeon Station, and take a bus to reach the hospital.

She wanted to attend university but lacked tuition fees. Given her family circumstances, she likely would have qualified for national scholarships, but when she entered university in 1991, the current national scholarship system was not yet in place, so tuition was a heavy burden. "If I had asked my uncle, he might have helped with tuition. But that’s not easy. I’m not even his daughter. He has a daughter my age. No one pressured me, but somehow I always felt intimidated."

Woojeong enrolled in a cyber university a year later than others, majoring in social welfare. It was a second-best choice because tuition was relatively cheaper than a regular four-year university, and it allowed her time to care for her mother.

When she became an adult, another caregiving responsibility awaited. Her grandmother, who had raised Woojeong since childhood, became elderly and physically unable to prepare meals alone. At the same time, Woojeong became the primary caregiver for her mother.

Application tag for the Long-Term Care Insurance System of the National Health Insurance Service for Woojeong's mother. Photo by Woojeong

Depression and frustration naturally grew. She began experiencing unexplained pain and swelling, but hospitals could not find the cause. It could have been due to an unbalanced diet, poor living conditions, caregiving stress, or all three combined. The clear fact was that none of these causes could be separated from Woojeong’s life at that moment.

"My face was so swollen that I was embarrassed to go outside. It swelled so much that people might have thought it was a side effect of plastic surgery. People couldn’t recognize me. Being sick in my early to mid-20s, when I should have been at my healthiest and most beautiful, was really hard. Steroid injections would reduce the swelling for 2-3 days, but then it would come back. I’ve been sick in cycles for years."

After starting psychiatric medication for depression, she began gaining weight as a side effect. Suddenly gaining 15 kg lowered her confidence. Woojeong lamented, "I have to care for both my grandmother and mother, but I have nothing to eat, and my body keeps getting bigger. While others my age are employed and becoming team leaders, I’ve been working part-time jobs for years." She said it was hard to escape her environment.

The difficulties Woojeong faced are chronic problems for family care youth. They must juggle caregiving for family members at a young age while participating in social activities like school and work. Especially during adolescence and youth, long-term caregiving hinders educational opportunities. The gaps caused by family caregiving during this period negatively affect social adaptation and reintegration, potentially trapping them in a cycle of economic poverty in the future.

This is why society must support the independence of caregiving youth. It is urgent to guarantee opportunities for education and training and provide conditions for growth as independent individuals in physical safety and emotional stability.

In fact, 3 out of 10 family care children and adolescents report difficulties with schoolwork. According to a September study by the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation titled ‘Analysis of Family Care Children and Adolescents and Support Measures,’ 29.6% of respondents said they struggled with homework and studying. Many also identified vocational training and employment support (35.5%) or career education and counseling (34.4%) as needed support.

Heo Minsook, a legislative researcher in the Health, Welfare, and Women’s Team at the National Assembly Legislative Research Office, emphasized, "Care children and adolescents may not keep up with studies, fall asleep in class, or forget to bring materials. They often cannot sleep properly because they care for family members, lowering the quality of their academic performance. It is necessary to establish awareness about care children, adolescents, and youth and systematically prepare support for them."

Voices also stress that emotional support measures must not be overlooked. Experiencing the triple burden of caregiving, housework, and livelihood increases the risk of mental health crises. This concern is evident in communities of caregiving youth. Many express fear of exhausting their youth while caring for sick family members, feeling as if they are wasting their youth on caregiving. There is also worry that if they grow old and sick, no one will care for them, and they will be abandoned.

Jo Gihyun, representative of the family care youth community 'N-inbun,' said, "People say economic independence, like employment, is most important, but that’s not all. Caregiving youth develop abnormal attachments, feeling pressured like ‘Is it okay for me to be like this when there’s a sick person at home?’ and ‘My mom can’t do without me.’ Emotional independence, which involves breaking away from this and forming diverse social relationships, is also necessary. Many caregiving youth lack environments or people with whom they can share their stories."

*Pseudonyms are used in this article to protect the identities of caregiving youth.