Golden years in the blues: Korea's seniors take on tough jobs to make ends meet

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (AJU PRESS) – For 30 years, Kim climbed the career ladder in the electronics industry, from circuit engineer to chip sales manager. Now in his late 50s and in early retirement, he works as a taxi driver, spending 10 hours a day behind the wheel – a career turn he never expected.

“It's anything but easy,” says Kim, who lives in Anyang, south of Seoul. “As a taxi driver on the night shift, I often pick up drunk passengers and minor arguments are commonplace. This job is very physically demanding.”

Kim is one of a growing number of Koreans who have held well-paying, skilled jobs for decades and now face precarious pensions. As the country grapples with rapid demographic changes, the dream of a comfortable retirement for many middle-aged and older workers is colliding with harsh reality.

The country's life expectancy increased from 76 years in 2000 to 82.7 years in 2022. The growth, which exceeded that of many other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reflects rapid advances in healthcare and quality of life. However, this increased life expectancy comes with a significant economic burden.

According to government statistics, in 2022, 38.1 percent of Korea's elderly population aged 65 and over lived in relative poverty, that is, with incomes less than 50 percent of the median household income. Although the rate has been declining since 2011, it is still the highest among OECD members.

According to the Korean Statistics Office, the employment rate in this age group was 36.2 percent in 2022, 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2021. At that time, the rate was also the highest among industrialized countries.

The nature of their employment is also a cause for concern. Half of working seniors perform “simple” jobs; this percentage has increased from 40.1 percent in 2017 to 48.7 percent in 2020. Such jobs often involve long working hours and physical demands that many retirees did not experience in their previous working lives.

 

This generation helped Korea dramatically move from poverty to prosperity in just a few decades. However, inadequate social security and failing pension systems left many behind and forced to work long after retirement, often as manual laborers such as janitors, parking lot attendants, or part-time workers in construction and manufacturing.

Jeong, 64, lives in Goyang, west of Seoul, and is a good example of the harsh reality of life after retirement. The former construction manager, who oversaw construction projects for nearly 30 years, switched to driving a taxi several years ago.

He finds his new role less stressful than his previous ones. “Back then, I had office hours, which meant I worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., whereas now I can freely change my shifts,” he says. “But physically it's more demanding because now the street is my workplace.” He has to be extra careful in the country's extreme summer and winter weather, as his eyesight changes with the weather as he ages.

Jeong advises his colleagues to consider stable, long-term career options that won't jeopardize retirement savings. “Find a second job. Look for something that offers a modest salary without requiring you to invest a lot,” Jeong said.

Another retiree, also named Kim, has a more positive outlook. He worked for 15 years at a gallery specializing in interior design before switching to landscape design at age 61. “I'm committed to learning something new and I'm a believer that when one door closes, another opens,” he said.

Kim is currently involved in gardening work at the National Assembly building complex in Seoul. His new-found passion for gardening has brought him unexpected fulfillment. “When I finish cutting wild flowers and grass and wipe the sweat from my brow, I feel a sense of pride that far overshadows any difficulties in the work,” he said.

Recent data shows that many older Koreans find value and meaning in work after retirement. The survey released by Statistics Korea shows that about 70 percent of the population aged between 55 and 79 want to continue working. 35.8 percent of them said they enjoy the work, while 55 percent pointed out that they need it to supplement their livelihood.

Looking at sectors, the health and social sector has overtaken agriculture, forestry and fishing as the largest employer of workers in this age group.

 

Such trends are reflected in the growing number of visitors to job fairs for seniors. A recruitment event for middle-aged and older people hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on July 22 attracted about 3,400 job seekers, 50 percent more than in 2023.

More than 70 companies took part in the event, mainly from the service and care sectors. The interviews held on site at the job fair led to 85 immediate hires and 510 scheduled second interviews, the organizers said.

“Although we primarily hire app developers and sales and marketing professionals, many of today's applicants are in their mid- to late 50s and were born between 1964 and 1966. Many are willing to pay less just to get a job with us,” said a career guidance industry insider at the event at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.

Social perceptions and stereotypes about certain professions exacerbate their difficulties. “There is still a fixed attitude in society towards certain professions. I found it interesting that most 50- to 70-year-old passengers treat me badly because of my social status as a taxi driver. On the contrary, younger people treat me with much more respect,” said taxi driver Kim.

The challenge now is to bridge the gap between retirement dreams and the current reality of the labor market for the ageing Korean workforce, while also meeting the strong desire of many older Koreans to remain employed beyond the age of 70.

Trade unions in key industries are calling for a gradual increase in the retirement age from the current 60 to 65. The National Assembly is also debating proposals to reform the ailing state pension system, which is widely viewed as inadequate to provide pensioners with sustainable income security.

In order to make more efficient use of the skills and experience of older workers, experts are calling for a move away from the current seniority-based pay system towards a system based on work content and performance.

“Korea's seniority-based salary structure automatically increases wages with age and length of service, which places a heavy financial burden on companies as employees get older. This often leads to pressure to retire early,” says Kim Ji-yeon, a researcher at the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).

“In order to make efficient use of the middle-aged workforce, it is desirable to ensure job continuity by expanding the wage system based on job content and performance rather than on length of service,” she added.