[Letters] Diversify popular career paths

The Korean economy is suffering from a high inflation rate and lack of investment. One of the fatal aspects of the aftermath of this economic depression is that the Korean labor market has frozen and the unemployment rate has increased, causing widespread panic in the Korean community.

The Lee administration has proposed a new government policy called the “Green New Deal.” It believes its new proposal will create 960,000 new jobs and has allocated a budget of 50 trillion won ($36.4 billion) over the next four years toward this goal.

However, recovery by creating new jobs is only efficient in a myopic view; that is, the Green New Deal does not appease the core problem of youth unemployment - the inordinate preference towards limited professions.

Korean students tend to have a strong penchant for certain professions of higher repute such as doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and professors. Ironically, however, the number of jobs in such professions is extremely limited.

Some people need to work in the less desirable factories and garbage dumps. Since the expectations and demands on students in Korea are so great, they would rather remain unemployed than take unpopular jobs.

Thus, the Green New Deal might succeed in creating new jobs. Yet, to solve the core problem of youth unemployment, awakening the souls of students is necessary.

Students should be educated about the pros and cons of diverse jobs and create their own preferences based on their own personal aptitudes.

Schools are an appropriate provider for such education. Educators should not only worry about the academic achievements of their students but also create a regular course on researching the kinds of jobs that are available in society.

With minor changes to our education programs, Korea will be able to withstand the harsh economic depression.

Lim Seung-hyun, fifty_420@naver.com