Young Koreans and the Hell Joseon Exodus
Hell Joseon
The term combines "hell" with Joseon, Korea's last feudal dynasty. It went viral in the 2010s as shorthand for a society where young people feel trapped in medieval-level rigidity dressed up as a modern economy. In a Korea Herald survey, 62.7% of respondents agreed South Korea qualifies as "Hell Joseon," and 54% had considered moving abroad.
That number has gotten worse. Recent surveys show roughly 75% of young Koreans want to leave. The sentiment is concentrated among 20- and 30-somethings who see no path to a stable life in a country that demands everything and guarantees nothing.
The Sampo generation
Sampo means "giving up three things": dating, marriage, and children. The label first appeared in the early 2010s. It has since expanded. The Opo generation gave up five things (adding social life and home ownership). The Chilpo generation gave up seven. The N-po generation, the current iteration, has given up on an indefinite number of life milestones.
South Korea's fertility rate reflects this. It fell to 0.76 in 2023, the lowest of any country on earth. Seoul's apartment prices doubled in five years. Youth unemployment sits at 12.5%, and even top graduates with perfect test scores face brutal rejection rates from major employers.
Where they go
OECD data for 2023 shows 42,000 Korean citizens emigrated to OECD countries, with 34% going to the United States, 12% to Canada, and 10% to Germany. Japan hosts over 520,000 Korean residents. Among younger Koreans surveyed about preferred destinations, Canada led at 25.2%, followed by New Zealand (21.2%), Singapore (8.6%), and Australia (8.1%).
The appeal of these destinations is consistent: affordable housing relative to Seoul, shorter working hours, and welfare systems that don't require you to sacrifice your 20s and 30s to corporate hierarchy before earning basic stability.
The pressure machine
South Korea's education system is famously intense. Students compete through years of hagwon (private academy) attendance, spending evenings and weekends in test prep from elementary school onward. University entrance determines career trajectory in ways that are difficult to reverse. The job market on the other side is dominated by chaebols (conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai), where long hours, rigid seniority, and gendered workplace cultures remain standard.
Housing in Seoul is effectively out of reach for young people without family wealth. The average apartment price in Seoul doubled in five years. When you combine unaffordable housing with grueling work culture and one of the highest costs of child-rearing in the OECD, emigration becomes a rational calculation.
Not a brain drain yet
South Korea's situation differs from Nigeria or Southern Europe in one important way: the economy is still strong enough to attract immigrants. Over 5% of Korea's population in 2024 were immigrants, mostly filling labor gaps in manufacturing, agriculture, and services. The country is simultaneously losing educated young Koreans and importing foreign workers.
The government has spent over $200 billion on fertility incentives since the early 2000s. None of it has worked. The problem is structural. Young Koreans are not refusing to have children because they lack cash bonuses. They are refusing because the entire system, from education to employment to housing, is designed around competition that leaves no room for a life outside work.
tl;dr
75% of young Koreans want to leave. The fertility rate hit 0.76, the world's lowest. Top destinations are the US, Canada, Japan, and Australia. The "give-up generation" isn't lazy. They did the math on housing, work hours, and child-rearing costs, and emigration came out ahead.