Last February, a New Progressive Party, called Jinboshindang, announced its youth policy entitled “Make the Sampo Generation Have a Romantic Relationship” in order to promise the electorate that the party would make an effort to reform social circumstances for young Koreans. The word Sampo is made of two parts: “Sam” means three, and "Po” means abandonment. The Sampo generation signifies people in their twenties and thirties who are giving up their three important choices (dating, marriage and childbirth) due to financial hardship.

As Korea’s economic situation goes steadily downhill, young Koreans in their twenties and thirties feel dispirited by difficulties such as searching for, or even losing their jobs. According to a survey by Saramin, a job search website,conducted at the beginning of 2012, about 42.3 percent of 2,192 respondents answered that they regard themselves as the Sampo generation. The result is probably the reason why the party made the aforementioned commitment.

In this edition’s “Cover Story”the virtual couple went on a normal date. They saw a baseball game, ate a meal and drank tea. The whole day cost about 30,000 won excluding transportation expenses. If a student works a part-time job all day long, he could earn about 50,000 won per day. According to a simple survey conducted by the Chonnam Tribune in late April, about 60 percent of respondents said that they spend between 30,000 and 50,000 won going on a date and 15 percent spend over 50,000 won. The survey also showed that 24 percent of respondents experience financial pressure because of these costs. Male students in particular get stressed due to the high costs of dating. Lee Ju-hyeong (Sophomore, Dept. of English Education) said, “I have to do a part-time job so I can date. If I have no money, I feel ashamed of myself when I meet my girl friend.” Dating costs also affect female students. Lee Yeong-ju (Junior, Dept of Animal Science) said, “Because of dating costs I have fought with my boyfriend before. In the early stages of our romantic relationship, he paid for the entire cost of dating whenever we went on a date. As time went by, he felt the pressure of paying for all of the dates. Now we split the cost.”

Many people including politicians and social leaders insist that it is time to lighten the financial burden for the young generations through social reform such as halving tuition fees and helping students find a job. Although social reform is needed, it may be difficult to change social systems in a short time. Young students are more encouraged by financial supports in a more practical and convenient way for their daily lives. When students go to movie theaters, restaurants, and cafes around Chonnam National University (CNU), they are not served by the cultural infrastructures. Adolescents under 24 in Korea want to have protection and to accept benefits for youths like cutting prices.

However, in reality, there is only a slight discount for students. Gwangju City Bus increased its costs by 20 percent last year. The price of a cup of coffee is becoming more and more expensive- even more than the price of a meal. The price of a movie ticket has increased steadily, but discounts from point cards and coupons have decreased. Prices continue to rise high, but wages have not risen and there are not enough discount schemes. Park Yang-ha (Sophomore, School of Economics) said, “If I don’t have enough money, I can’t go out anywhere. Everywhere I hang out, I must pay for it.”
It is not just prices and wages that discourage the young generations but also “spec”. “Spec” is short for specifications such as certifications which are used by students on their resume when looking for employment. University credits, extracurricular activities, English proficiency, certificates and even volunteering become necessary to get a job. These days university students have no time to go dating because they are really busy to gain the “spec” needed to find a good job after graduation. Last year the ratio of applicants for civil service exam grew to 550:1. Because it is so hard to find a job these days, more and more students want to get a stable or secure job such as a civil servant. Jeong Hyeun-suk (Sophomore, School of Business Administration) said, “When I look back at my twenties, I always studied for the Public Administration Examination instead of going out with my girlfriend. My girlfriend could no longer endure our relationship, and finally asked me to see a movie after one month. I was so apologetic to her.”

If CNU aligned itself with a multiplex, franchise restaurants and cafes around CNU and they gave CNUians a practical discount, it would be encouraging. If the university also offered discounts for CNUians at the Cafeteria and shops in BTL on campus, it would be good for the students. If Gwangju City cut the price of bus fares, the discount would be a huge help to them. At a personal level, a couple also should understand each other. One method to reduce financial pressures for dating costs is opening a saving account, called a ‘couple bankbook’ for dating costs. Jo Seol-gi (Junior, School of Business Administration) said, “I was under the pressure, because my boyfriend is doing national service. When we are dating in his holidays, we spend money out of our joint account. I think we cut down our dating expenses.”

The website Daum conducted a surveyon university life asking the question, ”If you become a university student, what do you want?” The most common answer was going on a blind date. According to this finding, students are really interested in dating, but they have troubles such as money and worrying about their resume. On May, a fine spring day had finally arrived. Students have their precious youth to enjoy their dreamy life. The older generating thinks it is a pitiful society for people in their twenties and thirties and our society needs to be completely reform for them. However, it may more urgent for university students to need practical and real solutions for their difficulties rather than social change on a large scale. 2030 Sampo generation, No matter how hard time goes by, way to go!

By Lee Ji-song, Student Editor

[Special Report]

저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지