Youth Unemployment in South Korea - with a Focus on Parental Financial Support

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to understand how the belonging of young adults to different households may influence their job search. Youth unemployment has been consistently rising in South Korea due to the young people’s behaviour and decisions. The job search model was applied in this paper to look into the motivations and reasons of why job-seekers from high-income and low-income households accept job offers and why other prefer to delay their entry. The results showed that young adults from poor family backgrounds were more likely to be employed but with low wages. Young adults from affluent family backgrounds were more likely to stay out of the labour market due to parental financial support and prefer to wait longer until the right job comes along.