Young Job Seekers Give Up Chuseok Holiday as Employment Falls to Steepest Drop in 27 Years

With employment among people in their 20s shrinking at its steepest pace since the Asian financial crisis, job seekers are forgoing the Chuseok holiday to focus on their job hunt. According to the national statistics portal KOSIS, the number of employed people in their 20s averaged 3.279 million per month from January to August this year, down 193,000 (5.6%) from the same period last year (3.472 million). This is the largest drop in the monthly January-August average since 1998 (550,000), when the fallout from the financial crisis was still unfolding — bigger even than during the 2009 global financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The picture does not improve even when accounting for population decline. The population in their 20s averaged 5.55 million per month from January to August, down only 3.5% from a year earlier, while employment fell 5.6% — meaning jobs are disappearing faster than the population itself.

For young people, even the four-day Chuseok holiday is no time to rest. In a survey of 2,357 adults by the recruitment platform Saramin, 78.1% of respondents said they would prepare for employment during the holiday. The most common reason was 'rolling hiring means postings can appear at any time' (43.6%), followed by 'there are so few openings that finding a job is difficult' (38.3%) and 'the long holiday gives me time to concentrate' (30.9%).

At a youth center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 15th, job seekers could be seen revising cover letters and highlighting workbooks. Kim Myung-hwi, 26, who has been preparing for a marketing job for six months, said, 'Having fallen at the final interview stage three times, I feel I can't afford to let up now,' and decided to skip traveling home for Chuseok to dedicate himself to job hunting. Moon So-yeon, 28, who has submitted more than 50 applications over the past three months, said, 'I got notice that I passed the document screening, so I'll be working on a take-home assignment all holiday,' adding that she also plans to study for the GSAT to prepare for Samsung's recruitment process. Yoon Jae-hyun, 29, who is seeking a product manager role, will skip a family trip to work on an AI hackathon portfolio project over the holiday. Mao Suzaki, 27, a Japanese international student majoring in media studies at Kyung Hee University, said she would use the holiday to juggle midterm exams and job preparation.

Even without explicit pressure from family, young people feel job anxiety and pressure on their own, unable to enjoy even the respite of a holiday. Kwon Yeon-hee, 26, who is preparing for a career in social welfare, said, 'My parents actually feel sorry for me, but not being able to land a job and standing still feels overwhelming.' Professor Ku Hye-young of the Department of Social Welfare at Hanyang Cyber University analyzed, 'When people feel they have no achievements to show, revealing themselves to family becomes a burden in itself. Even without nagging, their self-esteem can be severely undermined.' Professor Chung Ik-joong of the Department of Social Welfare at Ewha Womans University pointed out, 'If this mindset persists, it can lead to social problems such as isolation and withdrawal,' noting that holidays could instead be an opportunity to relieve the psychological isolation built up during the job search.

This year's Chuseok holiday runs for four days from September 24 to 27.