Jobless Youths Over 35 Fall Through the Cracks of Policy
South Korea's 'shut-in youth' (young people aged 19 to 34 who stay at home almost all the time, excluding pregnancy, childbirth, and disability) is estimated at approximately 537,800 as of 2024. That accounts for 5.2 percent of the entire youth population, more than double the 2.4 percent recorded in 2022. And it is not just the numbers that are growing. The duration of isolation is lengthening as well. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' report 'Changes in the Patterns of Youth Social Withdrawal and Policy Tasks,' the share of shut-ins whose isolation lasted seven years or longer rose from 4.0 percent in 2022 to 6.0 percent in 2024.
The causes of isolation can be found in the labor market. In the 2024 survey on actual conditions, 41.1 percent of shut-in youth cited difficulty finding employment as the main reason they rarely leave home, the highest response. The probability of isolation among 'resting' youth stood at 17.8 percent, 6.6 times that of employed youth (2.7 percent), while the probability of isolation among unemployed youth was estimated to climb from 15.1 percent in the first month of job searching to 50.1 percent by the 42nd month.
As new hires decline and experienced and rolling recruitment expands, young people outside the labor market have found it harder to land jobs. The spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is also shrinking the tasks that could once be performed without special experience. Kim Sung-hee, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Labor Studies, diagnosed, "Those who fail to secure sustainable jobs at their first workplace and drift through precarious employment easily fall into isolation," adding, "Isolated youth in Korea today tend to repeatedly enter and exit the labor market."
It has also been pointed out that prolonged isolation, combined with the aging of the parents' generation, can escalate into a family crisis. As the second baby boomers (born 1964–1974), the parents of shut-in youth, approach retirement, problems of livelihood, housing, and medical care could erupt all at once the moment the economic and caregiving foundation disappears. Chung Soon-dool, a professor of social welfare at Ewha Womans University, emphasized, "If the problem of isolation goes unresolved and hardens, it could develop into something like the 8050 problem," warning, "Left unattended, social entrenchment will deepen, making early intervention crucial."
In this context, the Framework Act on Youth defines youth as those aged 19 to 34, meaning a considerable number of employment-related measures are designed for those under 35. Shut-in and isolated youth who have passed 35 are effectively left in a policy blind spot. Koo Jung-woo, a professor of sociology at Sungkyunkwan University, said, "The moment people move into their late and mid-30s, social attention drops sharply," adding, "They withdraw further and the vicious cycle repeats, so they should be comprehensively regarded as 'youth' and continue to receive social attention."
Professor Chung of Ewha Womans University said, "Because the government has limits in directly intervening in the private market or artificially creating jobs, it should focus on indirect support such as deregulation and creating an environment so that companies can operate actively and jobs themselves increase." Professor Kim of Korea University said, "Age groups excluded from labor market measures find it even harder to escape isolation," adding, "We should stop limiting the focus to 'youth' and instead pay attention to the 'problem' itself and seek ways to improve it."
