Unemployment, Isolation, and Depression Among Young People: Korea’s Hidden Youth
Contrary to common belief, socially withdrawn or isolated youth are not lazy or unwilling to work. According to a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 8 out of 10 socially withdrawn young people want to find employment and return to society. They just need support in discovering personal career paths and reintegrating into society.
Rather than rushing them toward productivity, what they need first is understanding and support for their healing. Shifting our perspective from judgment to empathy allows us to build a more compassionate society—one where every young person has the opportunity to reconnect, recover, and eventually find their place in the world.
Take the case of Ji-won Lim. He stopped going to school in the 9th grade. “I felt trapped at school,” he said. “I just couldn’t find a reason to go anymore.” From the age of 17 until he joined the military at 21, he rarely left home. He spent most of his time playing video games and gained over 10 kilograms. After gaining weight, going outside became even more difficult.
“Even just stepping outside made me feel like people were staring at me for no reason. I think I only ever made it to the local PC café.”
This type of long-term isolation is not uncommon. Many youths, like Yoon-mi Lee (pseudonym), have spent years cut off from society due to mental health struggles. Lee completed her middle and high school education through homeschooling because of issues that began in elementary school. Recently, motivated by her desire to reenter society, she moved from her hometown in North Gyeongsang Province to Seoul.
“I’m an adult now, and I really want to work. I want to work… but I just can’t seem to make it happen.”
As another example, Jang-eon Cho shared,
“Since childhood, I struggled with relationships and made almost no friends. I eventually dropped out of university because of social difficulties.”
He came across the online community Mole Tunnel by chance, and now shares his personal story on its online message boards.
Lim’s story shows how such a turning point can begin. Just before completing his military service, he came across a GED prep program run by the social cooperative Working School. “I figured, now that I’m over 20, I should at least take the high school equivalency exam,” he recalled. But even after that, he stayed home for nearly another year. He worked briefly at a supermarket, but described it as “a confusing time when I didn’t know what to do with my life.”
Then came a phone call that would change his trajectory. He was contacted by Lee Jung-hyun, secretary general of Working School, and joined a year-long program. There, he had the chance to explore his personality, interests, and career options. He also worked as an intern at a senior welfare center.
Thanks to this support system, since April 2023, Lim has been working as the manager of a café called On a Day Like That, carving out his own space in the world, one step at a time.
The problem is that it often takes a long time for withdrawn youth to find a job that is accepting of them. Many of them lack social skills and have limited work experience. That’s why organizations that have long supported isolated youth emphasize the importance of a supportive foundation. When they’re at risk of falling back into isolation, having a mentor who has gone through the same journey can be a crucial source of guidance.
Social withdrawal is not a sign of laziness or failure — it’s often the result of early emotional wounds that were never given the space or support to heal. Many young people who isolate themselves are simply trying to survive in a world that felt unsafe to them from the start. Rather than pushing them into jobs or education prematurely, the first and most important step is helping them restore the rhythm of everyday life.