Korea's Young Find It Hard to Get a Job
SEOUL, South Korea -- Lee In Seok has been trying to find work since graduating almost a year ago. The 26-year-old has applied for more than 100 jobs -- all to no avail.
South Korea is home to a growing number of out-of-work 20-somethings. A weak economy, the allure of cheap outsourcing offshore, and the embrace of technology are all contributing to high unemployment among young Koreans. The rate for those aged 15-29 reached 8.6% in December, more than twice the overall jobless rate of 3.6%. Their ranks are so large that they have been dubbed the Kangaroo Tribe because they lack the economic independence to leave the protective pouch of their families.
Graduates have fared the worst. Last year, six out of 10 higher-education graduates failed to land jobs. Even law graduates, traditionally the most sought-after by Korean companies, are having trouble: Nearly two-thirds have been unable to find work.
The surge in youth unemployment is the result of two trends. The first is demographic: Children of Korea's "second baby boom," the progeny of the first baby boomers born after the 1950-53 Korean War, are reaching adulthood and pouring into the job market. The second is economic: Since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Korean companies have become more focused on profits, paring back work forces, relying increasingly on temporary employees and people with more experience and skills. They have also turned to technology for labor-intensive tasks and begun outsourcing services and production to cheap locations in Southeast Asia and China.
Add to that a cyclical downturn in the Korean economy -- which resulted in a six-month recession last year -- and the job outlook for young people is dire. When Mr. Lee applied for one of 50 vacancies at a small local food company in December, he was up against 4,500 other applicants. "I didn't even get an interview," he said.
Like Mr. Lee, Song Kyoung Min has also struggled to find work since leaving a university two years ago. The 26-year-old computer-engineering graduate, who lives with his parents, has been hopping from one part-time job to another and surviving with the help of a small allowance from his parents. "The government isn't doing enough. It doesn't seem to realize the extent of this problem," he said.
The government recently pledged to increase spending on plans aimed at helping to get young people into the work force. But Mr. Song isn't waiting. He has created an online support group for other unemployed 20-somethings. Visitors to his Web site (
www.baegsoo.com) trade tips about job-hunting and how to prevent depression. Since June 2002, more than 4,000 have signed up as members. Once a month, they get together to share a meal and discuss their experiences.
Labor experts say that while the overall jobless rate is likely to fall when the economy improves and companies start replenishing their staffs, it won't necessarily translate into more jobs for younger workers. Korea's growth rate is expected to be slower, on average, in the future as the economy matures, the central bank says. And rising wages have encouraged more Korean companies to move production lines and research-and-development facilities offshore.
Then there is the country's love affair with technology. In the retail industry alone, technology is taking the place of tens of thousands of young job-seekers. Take Lotte Department Store, for example, which has just built a counter system that replaces sales staff with personal digital assistants. It is planning to introduce the automated system in its 20 stores nationwide. The company expects the system to reduce the number of salespeople, mostly in their 20s, by 70%.
Shifts in the labor market have also been to the disadvantage of the young. Lee Sang Woo, a research fellow at Samsung Economic Research Institute, recalls the go-go years of the early 1990s, when Korean conglomerates ran yearly mass-recruitment drives, hiring thousands of new university graduates and training them. That worked well when the economy was enjoying seemingly boundless growth. Now, companies are paying more attention to profits, creating demand for temporary workers and those with work experience and job skills.
A recent survey by the Ministry of Labor found fresh college graduates accounted for only 18.2% of all recruits in 2002, compared with 59.3% in 1997.
The government has drawn up plans in an effort to provide more opportunities for young job seekers. This year, it will spend 517 billion won ($434 million) -- up from 362 billion won last year -- on subsidies to companies that hire jobless youngsters, vocational programs and public-sector job-creation efforts.
The job-creation programs last between six months and a year. They are designed to give young people a chance to improve their job skills and gain experience in the private and public sectors. This year, government ministries will offer 142,000 places in their own job-creation programs.
Business leaders complain that universities have failed to foster the kind of competitive manpower they need. "Despite the high unemployment rate, we have a hard time recruiting qualified employees," said Oh Sang Soo, president of Mando Corp., a Korean car-parts maker. A survey of engineering graduates who joined Mando between 2001 and 2003 found that 90% felt they needed more training before starting their jobs.
Industry groups like the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry are calling for changes to the country's rigid higher-education system, saying it should include more practical training.
韩国年轻人工作难觅
毕业将近一年了，Lee In Seok一直在找工作。今年26岁的他已经申请了100多份工作，但仍一无所获。
在韩国失业人群中，20多岁年轻人的身影随处可见。经济疲软、产业外包以及科技进步是造成很多韩国年轻人失业的主要原因。去年12月份，韩国15-29岁人群的失业率达到了8.6%，是整体失业率3.6%的两倍还多。这一失业人群的规模如此庞大，以至于他们被谐称为"袋鼠部落"，因为他们还没有独立的经济能力脱离家庭的保护伞。
应届大学毕业生的情况最糟。去年，韩国每10个大学毕业生有6个找不到工作。即使是传统上最受韩国公司欢迎的法律专业毕业生也面临就业困难：几乎有三分之二的人与工作无缘。
导致失业年轻人数量激增的原因有两方面。第一是人口因素：韩国在1950-1953年朝鲜战争结束后出现了第一代"婴儿潮"，他们的后代──第二代"婴儿潮"──现在已经长大成人，蜂拥进入就业市场。第二是经济因素：自90年代末亚洲金融危机之后，韩国公司更专注于利润，他们裁减雇员，更多的倚重临时工和有工作经验的工人。他们还在一些劳动密集型的工作中使用了新科技，并开始将服务和生产外包到东南亚和中国等成本低廉的国家。
韩国周期性的经济衰退起到了推波助澜的作用──韩国去年出现了6个月的经济衰退，年轻人的工作前景黯淡无光。当Lee In Seok去年12月份申请韩国一家小型食品公司50个职位中的一个时，有4,500个申请者和他竞争这一职位。他说，"我甚至没能得到面试机会。"
与Lee In Seok的情形相似，Song Kyoung Min自两年前离开学校以后一直在苦苦寻找工作。这位26岁计算机工程专业的毕业生不断的更换兼职工作，目前他与父母一同生活，依靠父母提供的微薄钱财生活。他说，"政府未能尽到责任，它似乎没有意识到问题的严重程度。"
韩国政府最近承诺将增加资金，帮助年轻人找工作。但是Song Kyoung Min没有守株待兔。他在网上创建了一个针对20多岁失业人群的救助团体，网站(
www.baegsoo.com)访问者可以互相交换找工作以及消除沮丧情绪等心得。自2002年6月份以来，有超过4,000人注册成为会员。他们每月聚会一次，一起吃饭并讨论彼此的经验。
劳工行业的业内人士称，尽管当经济改善和公司补充新雇员时，整体失业率可能将有所下降，但是这并一定意味著年轻人将会获得更多的工作机会。韩国央行表示，随著韩国经济未来日益成熟，经济的增长率将会放缓。工资的增长会促使更多韩国公司将生产线和研发中心转移到海外。
再就是科技的影响。单在房地产市场，科技将取代数万名寻找工作的年轻人。拿Lotte Department Store举例来说，它刚刚建立了一个以个人数字助手替代销售员工的柜台系统。它计划在全国20家商店安装这种自动化系统。该公司预计该系统将令销售员工的数量减少70%，其中大多数是20多岁的年轻人。
就业市场的转变也令年轻人处于不利地位。三星经济研究院(Samsung Economic Research Institute)的研究员Lee Sang Woo对90年代早期就业市场的热烈情形记忆尤新：当时，韩国大型企业每年都会举行大规模招聘活动，招聘数千名大学毕业生并为之提供培训。当时的经济形势似乎有无穷的增长潜力，这种模式运作很成功。但现在完全不同了，公司将重心放在利润上，所以他们对临时工和有工作经验工人的需求增加。
韩国劳工部(Ministry of Labor)在最近的一次调查中发现，应届大学毕业生数量仅占所有新招工人数的18.2%，而在1997年时这一比例为59.3%。
韩国政府推出了为年轻就业者提供更多就业机会的计划。今年，韩国政府将斥资5,170亿韩圆（4.34亿美元)向招聘失业年轻人的公司、职业项目以及公共领域创造就业的项目提供补助，这一数额远远高于去年的3,620亿韩圆。
创造就业项目期限一般为6个月到1年，旨在给年轻人一个提高工作技能和增长在私营及公共领域工作经验的机会。今年，韩国政府各部门将创造142,000个工作机会提供给年轻人。
商界高层人士抱怨道，大学没有培养他们所需要的富有竞争力的人才。韩国汽车零部件公司Mando Corp.的总裁Oh Sang Soo说，"尽管韩国失业率很高，我们仍很难雇到符合条件的员工。"一项对在2001年至2003年之间加入Mando的工程专业大学毕业生进行的调查发现，有90%的人感觉他们在开始踏上工作岗位之前需要进行更多的培训。
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry等行业团体呼吁对韩国僵硬的高等教育体系进行变革，他们表示学校应该进行更多的实践培训。
