More Korean adults living with parents for financial reasons

A kangaroo peeps from its mother's pouch. [YONHAP]

An increasing number of adults are being forced to live with their parents for financial reasons, a report showed, and these difficulties are altering their plans for the future, such as marriage.

A report released by the Office for Government and Policy Coordination on Tuesday said six out of 10 young Koreans are members of the “kangaroo tribe,” or those who have finished college and are old enough to live on their own but remain financially dependent on their parents.

The Office for Government and Policy Coordination surveyed about 15,000 households in July and August last year to draft a status report on the lives of people between the ages of 19 and 34.

Of the surveyed households, 57.5 percent had grown-ups living with their parents.

Of these grown-ups, 67.7 percent said they have no detailed plan for moving out. When asked why they have no such plan, 56.6 percent said they wanted to cut back on living expenses.

A 30-year-old who lives in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, said he recently gave up on moving out of his parents house. He admitted that he is a kangaroo, although he has been working for five years.

The 30-year-old made his final struggle not long ago after a quarrel with his parents about his time management, which drove him to visit some real estate offices. But in just a week, he was forced to surrender.

“Jeonse for officetels near my workplace was some 300 million won ($220,000),” he said, adding that additional maintenance fees and interest for jeonse loans overwhelmed him.

He did have plans to save money, buy his own house and get married in the past, but nowadays he doubts the possibility of getting married.

Another kangaroo, who lives in Goyang, Gyeonggi, claims that he’s a kangaroo by choice.

“I’ve saved 150 million won after six years of work,” he said. “I’m going to either need financial support from my parents or get a loan if I want to move out and live by myself, so I chose to just stay with them until I get married.”

The man did have a plan — a plan involving not moving out for the next two or three years.

Many other kangaroos are these men. They are employed, have been working for a while and hope to get married in the future.

Of the kangaroos, 67.4 percent were employed and had an average of 31.6-months on the job. Three out of four said they wish to get married in the future. Many kangaroos had not given up on such hopes, with 94.8 percent believing the desired future can be achieved.

Some experts say young people living in kangaroo pouches is evidence of imbalance in society.

“Unlike some analyses that argue young people choose not to get married because they have individualistic values and want to enjoy the single life, research reports show that it’s rather because of socio-economic difficulties,” said Kim Yun-tae, a sociology professor at Korea University.

“It’s an inevitable, forced choice,” Kim added.

The government has been drawing up eyebrow-raising, shortsighted measures that attempt to change young people’s views on marriage and give out childbirth subsidies, but multidisciplinary measures tackling the job and housing issue are required to get down to the root of the problem, according to the sociology professor.

Living as kangaroo is a “rational” choice for many young people, according to Welfare State Youth Network’s chairman Moon Yoo-jin.

“The reason why the majority of young people cannot live on their own or get married is because it’s difficult for them to establish a socio-economic base,” said Moon.

BY YI WOO-LIM, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]