Why more young Koreans are delaying college graduation

Seo Soo-jin, who graduated from college in 1995, remembers that taking a leave of absence was unusual among her classmates.

"Back then, students who took leave generally fell into one of three categories: military service, medical reasons or preparation to retake the college entrance exam for another university," she said. "People usually assumed they had a special circumstance."

That perception has largely disappeared. Today, on many Korean campuses, taking time away from school has become an almost expected part of university life.

According to a 2023 report by the Korea Educational Development Institute, the number of university students taking leave has risen sharply since the 2000s. Compared with 1980, the leave rate in 2022 was 2.2 times higher among men and 12.9 times higher among women, reflecting a particular increase among female students.

Rather than following a straight path toward graduation, many students are stepping away from school to pause, reflect and navigate an uncertain future.

Lee Seung-hyun, a 24-year-old visual design major, decided to take a leave of absence before her final semester, hoping to add internship experience to her resume before entering the job market in earnest. She now works as a brand experience design intern at a startup, in a five-month position that offers no guarantee of a full-time contract.

"I wanted to gain internship experience while I was still enrolled," she said, adding that she feared graduating from college with little more than a diploma on her resume.

Lee said her decision was influenced by advice she repeatedly heard from those around her.

"If not an internship, people told me to at least find a part-time job related to my field," she said. "So I was determined to build relevant experience, whether through an internship, a part-time job, a design competition or a training bootcamp."

For students like Lee, a semester away from the classroom has become a strategic investment — a chance to gain practical experience, strengthen their resumes and improve their chances in an increasingly competitive job market.

The trend reflects a broader shift in South Korea, where a shortage of quality jobs has intensified competition among college graduates.

According to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, the employment rate among people aged 20 to 24 fell from 45 percent in 2009 to 31 percent in 2024. By contrast, employment rates among people in their late 20s and early 30s increased over the same period, suggesting that entry into the workforce has shifted to older age groups.

The research concluded that the figures point to a delayed transition into employment. Unlike previous generations, who typically entered the workforce soon after graduation, many college students today spend several additional years preparing for their first jobs.

Seo said the contrast from her college years is striking.

"It was fairly easy to get a job after graduation, so internships were a rare concept to us," Seo recalled. "You could spend your summer vacation developing new skills or simply enjoying college life. People were not nearly as stressed about building their resumes as students are today."

For younger students, taking a leave of absence can serve a different purpose. Before the pressure to build a resume and secure a job begins, some use the time to explore who they are and what they want — opportunities they often missed in South Korea's highly competitive education system, where much of their time in school is devoted to the race for college admission.

Kim Kyung-min, 24, took a leave of absence after her sophomore year to "enjoy things outside academics." Among her peers, she said, taking time away for personal growth, or simply for a break, felt entirely normal.

"I traveled, met people from different backgrounds and learned about their college experiences. I also started playing the bass guitar, which I still enjoy," she said. "I knew that once I became a senior, my focus would shift to job hunting, so I wanted to slow down and explore different things before life became more demanding."

That was possible because, like many her age in Korea, she lives with and is financially supported by her parents.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination's 2024 Survey on the Lives of Young People, 54.4 percent of people aged 19 to 34 still lived with their parents.

Kim Bo-min, 25, took a leave of absence during her sophomore year in 2021 to pursue something she had long dreamed of but had never had the chance to experience.

"I had a vague dream of working in film since high school," said Kim, an economics major who now works at a shipbuilding company.

During a gap semester, she explored that interest by working as a staff member at the Busan International Film Festival, hoping to discover what a career in film was really like. Until then, she had enjoyed watching films, but had few opportunities to experience the industry firsthand.

Although the experience ultimately led her to pursue a different career path, Kim said it was a valuable opportunity to better understand her own interests.

"It felt like the ideal time to do that," she recalled, "because the anxiety of getting into a prestigious school had passed, while the pressure to find a full-time job had not yet set in."