South Korea’s Gen Z, born between 1995 and the early 2010s, is the first generation to grow up in a developed country. The country’s gross national income (GNI), the total amount of money earned by a nation’s people and businesses, surpassed $30,000 in 2014 when most of Korea’s Gen Z were children. While Gen Zers spent their formative years in a world of relative affluence, they now face a stagnant economy unable to provide the jobs they desire as they enter the workforce.
South Korea’s economy has slowed, with the average annual growth rate falling below 2% since the 2020s. Gen Z wants high-quality jobs, but sluggish growth is failing to generate sufficient job opportunities, mirroring trends in other developed nations. For Gen Z, who are seeking jobs that pay well and offer work-life balance, the mismatch between expectations and lack of suitable employment has resulted in a “job mismatch” situation.
“Young people today prioritize jobs with high wages, work-life balance, and fair performance-based pay, but the labor market remains rigid, centered around traditional full-time manufacturing jobs,” said Kang Sung-jin, an economics professor at Korea University.
Unlike their parents, Gen Zers are unwilling to settle for conventional 9-to-5, blue-collar jobs. They place greater emphasis on high wages and work-life balance. According to a survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service, 87% of 4,001 respondents aged 19 to 34 stated that company size was irrelevant if the pay and benefits were good. Meanwhile, 63% said work-life balance is more important than wages and benefits.
As quality jobs remain scarce, many Gen Z employees opt for “infinite job-hopping,” switching companies frequently in pursuit of better conditions. A survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation found that 83.2% of workers in their 20s consider changing jobs, a figure higher than those in their 30s (72.6%) and 40s (58.2%).
Some Gen Zers are rejecting traditional career paths altogether. Lee, a 28-year-old former interior designer, left her former job at a design company last year. She now earns a living through freelance coding projects and part-time jobs to supplement her income. “This way, I make just as much as I did at my old company,” she says. “I plan to live like this while exploring my options.”
