‘Kangaroo tribe’ grows with 66% of young Korean adults dependent on their parents
- The majority of Korean adults aged from 25 to 34 either live with their parents or lack economic independence and need help from family
By Yi Whan-woo
Kim Young-joon, 30, increasingly bickers with his parents over minor issues as the years go by. Despite obtaining a master’s degree, he turned down job offers because he felt they didn’t match his educational level, and has been unemployed since.
“My parents say it is stressful to see me at home day and night, hurting my feelings and making me react sensitively whenever I see them,” Kim says.
“I’m afraid this situation will get worse as I get older, because it gets tougher to land a decent job and become financially self-reliant.”
Kim is among the two-thirds of South Koreans aged between 25 and 34 who either live with their parents, or lack economic independence though they live separately from their parents. They are collectively called the “kangaroo tribe” because, although adults, it is as if they have not left their mother’s pouch yet.