A quarter of a million young Koreans are studying to become civil servants in safe, boring, lifelong jobs while only 140,000 want to work in private enterprise. The reality is that the total number of employed Koreans stands at more than 20 million, but only 1 million of them are civil servants. And still hundreds of thousands are preparing for the civil service exam. That must mean something is wrong.

The main culprit is the private sector, which has signally failed to provide quality jobs. A study by the Korea Development Institute has also revealed that young people can earn more money over a lifetime as a mid-ranking pen-pusher until retirement than by working for a private company until their mid-50s. So far the prevailing view was that public-sector jobs pay less than private-sector work but offer stability as a tradeoff, but now even that is no longer true.

Private-sector jobs are competitive, and sectors that perform poorly are at risk. Workers in private companies cannot expect continued high wages if productivity drops. But public-sector offices do not go bankrupt, and there is a strong culture of privileging procedures over results. Any shortfall in productivity is picked up by the taxpayer.

Public sector jobs do not offer the rewards and adventures young jobseekers can expect in private businesses. The fact that so many young Koreans are looking to settle into a life in the civil service shows how static the country has become in terms of spirit, lack of hope and vision offered. If society does not help young people to regain hope, the future is bleak. The latest trend is nothing short of a crisis.

Read this article in Korean