Understanding the Life Trajectories of Young Adults in Transition: Analysis of Transition Dynamics and Influential Variables

Abstract

The life histories of young people in South Korea have changed dramatically in a short period of time, with recent cohorts showing a pattern of decreasing diversity in trajectories, with delayed marriage and childbearing experiences, less stable labor market transitions, and fewer types of full-time caregiving. The survey of transition to adulthood practices and perceptions found shifts in traditional gender role norms and gender awareness gaps, a tendency to find earning activities more rewarding than family caregiving, and gender, regional, and educational differences in perceptions of sexism. The analysis of perceptions of adulthood found that age does not play a significant role in determining adulthood; prioritization of economic independence and residential separation; the need for more time between economic independence and residential separation and marriage and childbirth; women perceive the age of transition to be somewhat higher than men; and the emergence of “new adults” who do not fully fulfill the transition to adulthood, including economic independence, residential separation, marriage, and childbirth. A review of international case studies confirms that there are differences in the duration and pathways to adulthood depending on the level of social safety nets. At the policy level, this suggests that policy responses are needed to raise awareness of gender roles in the completion of adult transitions and that social security systems need to be reorganized in a way that is responsive to changes in the life course.