A recent study has found that more than 70,000 teenagers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province are serving as “young carers,” taking on the responsibility of caring for family members with serious illnesses, dementia, or alcohol addiction. These young carers, often at the expense of their education, not only manage caregiving duties but, in some cases, also act as primary breadwinners for their families.
The term “young carer” refers to youths who provide unpaid care for family members, such as parents or grandparents, who are unable to care for themselves. According to a report by Kim Ji-seon, a senior researcher at the Social Security Intelligence Service, there were 70,885 young carers aged 9 to 18 in Seoul and Gyeonggi last year. This represents 3.5% of the total registered population in this age group, which stands at 2.03 million. When the age range is expanded to include those in their 20s and 30s, the number of young carers is estimated to increase to 123,470.
Kim’s report, the first domestic study to estimate the young carer population, focused on households receiving basic welfare. It excluded single-person and couple-only households and identified those with family members over 40 who require care, including individuals with disabilities, elderly people over 70, and cases where siblings care for each other in the absence of parents.
The concept of “young carer” first emerged in the UK during the 1980s and refers to children or adolescents providing unpaid care to family members. These young carers are often described as a “hidden group” or the “forgotten frontline” because they rarely disclose their struggles to schools or local authorities. While countries like the UK and Australia recognize young carers as a social issue and offer financial and caregiving support, South Korea has yet to develop official estimates or government policies to assist this group. International researchers have ranked South Korea’s response to young carers at the lowest level, classifying it as a “non-responsive country” on a scale of 1 to 7.
