South Korea has the highest share of college-educated young adults in the OECD. About 71% of those aged 25 to 34 hold a tertiary degree, the top rank among member countries, according to the organization's "Education at a Glance 2025" report.
Yet their employment rate, 80%, falls below the OECD average of 87%. Many of the country's most qualified young adults, the OECD notes, are simply inactive.
The "full-time child" describes an unemployed or economically inactive adult who lives with their parents and takes on chores, cooking and caregiving in return for an allowance or free housing.
On South Korean social platforms, videos tagged "a day in the life of a full-time child" draw hundreds of thousands of views. They show ordinary routines: making breakfast before parents leave for work, doing laundry, driving parents to hospital appointments, running errands.
Some earn a monthly allowance. Others simply trade labor for room and board.
