Sampo Generation (, "Three giving-up generation") is a neologism in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

referring to a generation that gives up

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, and having kids. Many of the young generation in South Korea have given up those three things because of social pressures and economic problems such as increasing cost-of-living,

tuition payments Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

, and

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

scarcity. There is also the ''opo sedae'', or "five giving-up generation", which takes the same three and adds employment and home ownership. The ''chilpo sedae'' ("seven giving-up generation") further includes interpersonal relationships and hope, while the ''gupo sedae'' ("nine giving-up generation") extends to physical health and appearance. Finally, the ''sippo sedae'' ("ten giving-up generation") or ''wanpo sedae'' ("total giving-up generation") culminates in giving up life''.'' The Sampo generation is similar to the

Satori generation is a Japanese language neologism used to describe young Japanese who have seemingly achieved the Buddhist enlightened state free from material desires but who have in reality given up ambition and hope due to macro-economic trends. The term wa ...

in Japan.

The origin of the word

This term was used by the special reports team of

Kyunghyang Shinmun The ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' or ''Kyonghyang Sinmun'' is a major daily newspaper published in South Korea. It is based in Seoul. The name literally means ''Urbi et Orbi Daily News''.

in the 2011 publication "Talking About the Welfare State". They defined Sampo generation members as those with unstable jobs, high student loan payments, precarious preparations for employment, etc., and who postponed love, marriage, and childbirth without any prospective plans. The report argued that the burden of starting a family in South Korea was so high because of the government's preference to delegate social welfare duties to families themselves. The emergence of the Sampo generation demonstrates that the structure of the traditional family unit was disintegrating at an alarming rate, according to the report. This word and its definition rapidly spread through various media and the Internet. The term means "three abandoning generation" or "three giving up generation", referring to the three things the Sampo generation is giving up on: courtship, marriage and children.

New economics of marriage

Regarding this term, Korean marriage trends are changing. According to marriage consultancy Duo, over 34 percent of 1,446 women surveyed prioritized financial capability and job in choosing a future husband, followed by 30 percent putting greatest importance on personality and 9 percent on looks. In modern society, singledom has arguably become a greater problem than unemployment, not because people have failed to meet the right one, but because they lack the economic power to marry and start their own families.

Research

Reason to be Sampo Generation in South Korea

And also, with the exception of a group of owners who would not give up anything, four types of abandonment were found, with uncertainty of the order of 27.36% of the total samples, 19.92% of the actualist, 13.24% of the self-absorbed type and 8.70% of the suspended type''.''

Similar issues in other countries

* In the United States, many

Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...

and late

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

also belong to the

Boomerang Generation Boomerang Generation, in Western culture, is the generation of young adults graduating high school and college in the 21st century. They are so named for the percentage of whom choose to share a home with their parents after previously living on t ...

which live with their parents after they would normally be considered old enough to live on their own. This social phenomenon is mainly caused by high unemployment rates coupled with various economic downturns, and in turn, many Boomerang children postpone romance and marriage due to economic hardship. * In Japan, the generation of youths in the 10 to 20s range since around 2010Michael Hoffman
Life is too short for an undesirable satori
''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', 2013/03/31 is called the "

". They are similar to the "Sampo Generation". Typically, they are not interested in luxury items, trips abroad, money, and successful careers. * In Europe, there are several terms and groups comparable to the "Sampo generation". In

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, they are called the 700 euro generation. These youngsters often work at temporary jobs and receive the minimum allowable salary of 700 euros a month. The term began to appear in 2008. * In China, a popular phenomenon called "

Tang ping ''Tang ping'' () is a lifestyle and social protest movement in China beginning in April 2021. It is a rejection of societal pressures to overwork, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishin ...

", or lying flat that describe Chinese youth denies to stand with social pressures such as hard work or even overwork, lowering the desire and wants.

References

External links

* {{Young adult development Cultural generations South Korean culture 2010s neologisms Economy of South Korea