As the birthrate and aging population and the number of singles, late marriages, and divorces increase, the number of young people who are raising elderly and sick parents or grandparents alone is increasing in Korea.
Many people drop out of school, have difficulty finding a job, and fall into poverty because they have to bear the burden of supporting themselves.
In the UK and Australia, these young people are defined as 'young carers' and are supported by policy, but in Korea, even the concept of 'young carers' has not been established yet.
We have covered what kind of people they are, what kind of difficulties they face, and what kind of support they need in Korea.
Young care under the water… Recognize, investigate, and support.
Experts met during the interview said that the burden of support should no longer be left solely to the young career.
The argument is that society should share the burden of support and provide time and financial support so that young carers can prepare for their future.
Based on the opinions of experts, we have compiled a list of support measures for young careers.
● Jo Ki-hyeon "Society must first recognize the existence of young careers"
Jo Ki-hyeon, the author of the book <Became Daddy's Dad>, about her experience of supporting her father who suffered from dementia since the age of 20.
Writer Cho says that Korean society should solve the problem by recognizing the existence of young careers.
From the central government department to the community center at the end of the village, the concept of young careers is not grasped, so they do not understand the difficulties of young careers and cannot help them.
“If you go to the community center and ask for help, you don’t understand the situation in which you have to balance your studies, making a living, and supporting yourself. I don’t think it is the job of children in their 40s, 50s, and 60s to support their elderly and sick parents 10 They don't even think that they're in their 20s or in their 20s, so they don't know how to help."
Since social awareness of young careers was not established, even among peers, they were often isolated.
“Even my friends don’t understand the situation in which I have to take responsibility for a living while supporting my father with dementia. I didn’t have any friends like that at that age. I couldn’t even discuss these issues or share information with my peers. In fact, in other families, They say, 'Don't play with that kind of friend'."
In order to prevent social isolation of young carers and to share information about child support, Cho is attempting to create a young carers self-help group.
"I wrote a story in the book, 'I wanted to die and my father also wanted to end it,' but another young career contacted me saying that he sympathized with him. But I am not the only one who thinks like that, but it is comforting to me. Having a self-help group will help each other in many ways as we can receive emotional support and share information.”
In fact, it is said that the 'Young Career Festival' has been held every June in the UK since 2000.
(<Education Rights Guarantee Policy for Young Careers> Sungkyunkwan University, Minseo Kim, Department of Global Leaders) About 1,500 young careers gather every year to form a network and provide a window for regular communication.
Furthermore, since some local governments in the UK are holding workshops by creating organizations in charge of these young careers, I think the Korean government needs to take a closer look.
● Yoon-Jeong Huh "The burden of support must be shared by society so that young caregivers can prepare for their future."
Yun-Jeong Huh, a professor at Ajou University School of Medicine, emphasized that time is what young caregivers need the most.
In their teens and 20s who need to prepare for their future, if they fail to study or get a job while supporting their parents or grandparents, it is impossible to prevent them from falling into a vicious cycle of poverty.
“I miss the time when I need to prepare for my future because of support. The bigger problem is that I can’t get it back. Giving money at that time or providing any support after that time can’t make up for the loss. ."
He also pointed out that dependency is not a problem to be solved by the young career's personal filial piety.
“You can’t leave the support to individuals like ‘You are a filial piety for taking care of your parents and grandparents so carefully. "That's why society has to share the burden of support. Give young carers time to prepare for their own lives, and society should take care of the support."
While immediate cash assistance is important, he stressed the importance of expanding nursing care services so that young carers have time to prepare for their lives.
"We need to significantly expand home care services and day care centers so that young caregivers can use them. I think we need support in a way that prioritizes caregivers to young careers."
Professor Huh warned that if measures to support young carers are not urgently prepared, the burden will eventually return to society.
"Young carers change their lives and provide for themselves that society can't provide, and they lose their lives. Then, those young carers fall out of society, and society pays taxes again to protect them. Replace the . It doesn't make sense. It needs a very urgent change."
● Jae-eun Seok “We need to ease the burden on young carers with caring credits”
Jae-eun Seok, a professor of social welfare at Hallym University, also pointed out that young carers do not have time to prepare for their retirement due to the heavy burden of support.
"The care that long-term care insurance is doing now is that the caregivers come to provide services for about three to four hours a day. It means that the young caregivers are responsible for all the rest of the 24 hours except for three or four hours a day. . You don't have time to prepare for your future."
He also said that as young carers are carrying the burden of support that society has to share, the burden on their future needs to be eased.
“We need to prevent people from falling into poverty because they are unable to prepare for their retirement while providing support for their own economic life. Germany’s pension system has a nursing credit. Is there a maternity credit that recognizes the maternity credit?
● Kim Seong-ju "The first priority is to investigate the actual situation… the urgent need to institutionalize support measures"
Kim Seong-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized that the most urgent thing is to understand the situation first.
An effective support policy can be developed only if you know how many young careers there are and what kind of support they need.
“If there are hundreds of thousands of young carers in the UK or Australia, Korea may have more than that. But right now in Korea, we don’t even know how many young carers there are. It can be done through the welfare network of the Ministry of Welfare and local governments. I think it is urgent to accurately grasp the situation through various methods, and to create and institutionalize support policies suitable for it."
Rep. Kim said that he would first establish the legal basis and definition of the young career. Based on the fact-finding investigation based on this, the law was revised and the budget was secured, providing counseling, housework support, and student financial support for young careers. He announced that he would come up with a policy.
Yeonju, born in 2000, who supports an 80-year-old grandmother with dementia, compared her situation to a baton touch. I had a baton touch with my grandmother and support, but it was said that she didn't seem ready yet. Most of the young careers I met during the interview process had the same concerns. The government is not even aware of their existence even when they are exhausted from supporting, studying and making a living at the same time and requesting support. Eventually, young carers fall into poverty, giving up marriage, childbirth, and even their future. The increasing number of young people giving up on the future is inevitably a social problem, not an individual problem. Perhaps it is our society, not the young career, that is not ready to take over the baton of support. Measures for young carers are urgent and urgently required.
▶ Young Career ① [Report file] burden of support → suspension of school → difficulty in finding a job → poverty… Do you know Young Career?
▶ Young Career ② [Report File] Young Career 490,000 UK, 230,000 Australia 'active support'... 'I don't know' in Korea