KB News Desk
Relocation to Greater Seoul has fewer financial benefits for younger generation
For decades, moving to Seoul was regarded as a pathway to success for young Koreans. But young people seeking to relocate today are increasingly dependent on family wealth due to high housing prices and cost of living expenses.
According to a July report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Bank of Korea, social mobility has become difficult for people whose parents do not have the financial means to support their children.
The report found that social mobility has weakened among Koreans born between 1981 and 1990 compared with earlier cohorts. This suggests that moving to the Greater Seoul area is no longer as effective a pathway to upward mobility as it had been for previous generations.
Jang Hyun-seo, 29, is one example of a younger person struggling to find stability in Seoul.
The graduate of a university in Seoul is now looking for a part-time teaching position near her hometown of Daegu after spending nearly a decade in the capital.
“I’ve had to move every couple of years, and I’m simply tired of it,” Jang said.
Jang, who lives in a studio apartment and pays 650,000 won ($443) in monthly rent, said she has repeatedly moved between dormitories and rented rooms in search of more affordable housing.
“At best, I could only afford another studio, and it felt like the situation was unlikely to change anytime soon. I started wondering why I should keep enduring life in a city that still felt cold and unfamiliar,” she said.
Higher income, but still not enough
However, the shortage of quality jobs outside the capital continues to draw young people to Seoul, leaving many caught between the desire to return home and the need to stay in the capital.
A study released Thursday by the Korea Education Development Institute found that 48.4 percent of 18,103 university students outside the Greater Seoul area hoped to work or pursue further education in the capital region.
One reason many continue to head to Seoul is the shortage of quality jobs in regional areas. As of Monday, Saramin, one of Korea’s largest job platforms, listed 61,441 job openings in Seoul, compared with 13,596 in Busan, the country’s second-largest city, despite Seoul’s population being only about three times larger.
Yet surveys suggest many young people are not opposed to building their careers outside the capital if comparable opportunities exist.
A separate survey by recruitment platform Catch earlier this month found that 51 percent of job seekers were willing to work in regional areas, while those reluctant to do so most often cited a lack of desirable jobs. When respondents were asked to assume they could secure a suitable position with promising career prospects, the share willing to work outside the capital region rose to 80 percent.
“There are not many decent jobs in Busan, especially for women. Other than banks or the civil service, the options are limited,” Lee Bo-ram, a woman in her 30s from Busan, said. “I think the weather is better than Seoul, and above all, I would rather live near the people I grew up with.”
The OECD said that the issue extends beyond inequality. As young people continue to be drawn to the capital but struggle to settle because of soaring housing costs, the pattern reinforces broader social challenges, including Korea’s persistently low birth rate and deepening regional disparities.
“Policies that lower the cost of mobility should be complemented by investments that help keep communities viable through improvements in job quality,” the report said.
“Strengthening both mobility and local opportunities is essential to prevent demographic decline from translating into persistent inequality.”
