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3 in 10 young people feel burned out over job hunt, working conditions

Published: 16 Dec. 2025, 18:43 Updated: 16 Dec. 2025, 19:04

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Three in 10 young people in Korea feel burned out. Not only is it difficult to search for a job — which takes up to a year on average — but job satisfaction remains low as worsening employment conditions take a toll on workers' mental well-being.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics’ “Youth Quality of Life 2025” report released Tuesday, 32.2 percent of people aged 19 to 34 said they experienced a sense of physical or mental burnout last year. While the figure is slightly lower than in 2022, when it stood at 33.9 percent, it suggests that even those who have yet to enter the labor market or have only just started their careers are already feeling exhausted.

A job seeker looks at listings at an employment fair in Coex Magok in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on Oct. 21. [NEWS1]

Burnout was particularly pronounced among young people living outside the Seoul metropolitan area, where the rate rose 3.3 percentage points over two years to 33.3 percent. The most commonly cited cause was anxiety over career prospects, which accounted for 39.1 percent of responses, followed by excessive workloads at 18.4 percent and disillusionment with work at 15.6 percent.

Overall life satisfaction among young Koreans stood at 6.7 out of 10, lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s average of 6.8 to rank 31st among 38 member states. The youth suicide rate rose to 24.4 per 100,000 people last year, up 1.3 from the previous year. Among those in their 20s, the rate of reported depression climbed to 16.3 percent in 2023, up 4.6 percentage points from 2021.

Analysts point to employment conditions as a key factor behind the declining quality of life. The average time it took wage-earning youths aged 15 to 29 to find their first job stood at 11.3 months in 2025, down slightly from the previous year but 1.3 months longer than in 2015.

Young men, including those in their 20s, took an average of 13.3 months to secure their first jobs — 3.8 months longer than women of similar age at 9.5 months. While the gender gap narrowed to 2.3 months in 2019 after peaking at 4.7 months in 2015, it has since widened again.

Even after landing their first job, satisfaction remains low. As of 2023, only 36 percent of wage earners aged 19 to 34 said they were satisfied with their current job, based on responses of “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” on a five-point scale.

Job seekers look at listings at an employment fair at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, on Dec. 2. [NEWS1]

A separate report by the Korea Employment Information Service found that just 7.9 percent of youths aged 15 to 29 were satisfied with all three key job conditions — pay, occupation and work location — in 2024, down nearly 3 percentage points from 10.5 percent in 2022. Over the same period, the share of youths dissatisfied with all three rose from 11.4 percent to 14.9 percent.

Low wages and job insecurity continue to weigh heavily. Among young people who found their first job this year, 68 percent earned less than 2 million won ($1,400) per month on average, with 15.3 percent making less than 1 million won. Nearly four in 10 young workers were in highly unstable employment, including fixed-term contracts of one year or less, which accounted for 31.8 percent, and temporary jobs at 8.1 percent.

In response, the government plans to raise the upper age limit defining “youth” from 29 to 34 to expand job-seeking support for those in their 30s as well as those in their 20s.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said in a recent briefing to the president that it will establish 10 support centers for young people who have stopped job hunting due to a lack of suitable opportunities.

The ministry also plans to provide work experience programs at major companies to 43,000 young people and to roll out additional support measures for inactive job seekers by the first quarter of next year in cooperation with businesses, relevant ministries and local governments.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KYUNG-HEE [[email protected]]