South Korea is seeing a growing trend where individuals don't feel the need to do hard or long hours of labor, according to experts. The tendency is also seen among welfare recipients.
"There are many smart farm self-sufficiency projects in rural areas but young people don't like farm work, saying it's too hard," said a representative from a social welfare organization. "They are only interested in how to succeed as YouTubers."
Experts noted that this kind of "gap in expectations" is one of the reasons for the low success rate of self-sufficiency programs. Among recipients of basic living allowances aged 18 to under 65, about 80,000 individuals are assessed as being capable of working and are eligible for self-sufficiency programs or national employment support systems.
The aging of participants within the self-sufficiency programs has also put them at a disadvantage in the job market. The percentage of participants aged 60 or over rose from 25.8 percent in 2018 to 27.9 percent in 2021. The issue is that the government's budget for self-sufficiency programs has been steadily increasing.
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