The issue of ‘youth’ has emerged as an important topic of interest. It is becoming a core issue as it is intertwined with changes in socioeconomic conditions, the decrease in the proportion of the youth population due to low birth rates and aging, and the issue of family care. Interest and discussion on this issue are expanding as the number of young people caring for sick family members has recently increased.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates that approximately 180,000 young caregivers care for sick family members. According to a survey by the Korea Social Security Information Service, the estimated population of young family caregivers is between 0.37% and 1.45% of the blind spots of welfare. In addition, young family caregivers ranked second as the type of youth that the government should focus on supporting in a survey conducted by the Youth Foundation in 2024 targeting 3,000 young people.
These responses indicate that young people perceive the difficulties of family care as a major burden in the present or future. In reality, young people caring for their families face various difficulties. These include the sudden occurrence of care situations and the resulting physical and mental burdens and livelihood burdens, situations where they cannot prepare for their future, such as dropping out of school, and the severance of social relationships due to these difficulties.
Young people find it difficult and overwhelming to even imagine that they will one day care for a sick family member. This can be confirmed by having students read “I Became My Dad’s Dad” by a Korean who published his own experience of caring for his family in a book and raised the issue of young people caring for their families in our society in the most impressive way, and then listening to their stories.
They found it difficult just to read other young people’s experiences of caring for their families. They poured out stories such as “The feeling I felt most after reading the book was helplessness,” “I was afraid that this might happen to me too,” and “I was overcome with despair that no one could help me.” At the same time, they confirmed the gap between the actual life and the system that should support this life and expressed their anger at the difficult welfare services and the inadequate role of the government.
As various youth issues are emerging as a topic of interest, it is fortunate that measures to support youth in need of family care are increasing. This year, the government decided to open ‘Youth Future Centers’ in four metropolitan cities and provinces, discover youth needing family care in local communities, closely manage them, and link them with various services. It also decided to support up to 2 million won in self-care expenses per year through selection. In addition, private and public welfare foundations and welfare organizations are carrying out various projects to support these young people.
Some local governments have enacted ‘Ordinances on Support for Youth in Need of Family Care’ to support them. However, this is only the beginning. The important thing is to substantiate and make the policies and measures in line with the needs of youth in need of family care. To do so, we must first establish a system to discover them.
The issue of care is one of the biggest tasks that our society must solve in the future. We are all vulnerable beings who need the care of others at some point in our lives. If young people who need to prepare for the future due to unavoidable circumstances are forced to mortgage their futures to take full responsibility for family care, this is a great loss to our society. It is time to face the difficulties of young people who need family care, bring them to the public forum, and take action to implement support policies for them.
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