"Everyone for themselves" is the key word in this low-growth, high-risk era.
“Now, let’s each live for ourselves and break free from the awkward sense of responsibility!”
The essential sociology of survival in this age: protecting the community through the happiness of individuals.

In Korea's low-growth society, where retirement is earlier and life expectancy longer, a new wind of "everyone for themselves" is blowing! Socio-economist Jeon Young-soo's new book, "Each for Oneself Society," offers a uniquely positive perspective on the philosophy of each-for-one, previously considered a selfish way of life, and suggests an alternative way of life that fits this philosophy.
Author Jeon Young-soo, who has keenly diagnosed the crisis of Korean society through books such as “Korea is Disappearing” and “Poverty Report of a Retired Nation,” interpreting social changes through demographic and generational analysis, puts forward “Each person for himself” as the survival keyword that is absolutely necessary for South Korea today.
In a low-growth, high-risk Korean society where people are becoming increasingly poor despite working hard, the only way to escape the trap of welfare collapse and social costs is for each person to survive on their own.


In this book, the author argues that we should protect the community by living our own happy lives instead of feeling a flimsy sense of responsibility toward others, and presents a realistic vision of the future direction that Korean society, where individual lives are trapped in the flimsy shackles of "us," should take.
From young people who are breaking all the molds of the older generation from dating to marriage and childbirth, to middle-aged people who have declared graduation from parenting and started a second life, to the elderly who are different from the bone and refuse to be a burden to their children, the author says that it is time to discard outdated systems that keep pace with the times and establish new systems that will make society sustainable.
This book will serve as the first forum for that discussion.

The underlying factor driving the survival strategy of each for themselves is low growth.
For single young people, forming a family was originally a 'high-risk, high-reward' choice.
This is because in Korea's unique seniority-based wage system, the income of the younger generation hits rock bottom, while those in their 40s and older are compensated based on 'performance < salary'.
Even though I had nothing, I was sure that my salary would increase, so there was a certain rationality to the somewhat risky choice of having a family to support.
But no more.
Low growth has become entrenched, with even the potential growth rate hovering around 2%.
There is now less reason to take the risk of creating a family that will support future income.


It's hard enough being alone, so marriage and childbirth are out of the question.
Even existing families have no choice but to restructure their family functions in the face of low growth.
Settling into a dual-income household requires an equal order among individual members, not a fatherly or motherly one.
As traditional roles break down, family members find their own ways to be happy.
Gender roles and even age stereotypes crumble in the face of each person's struggle.
The standards of the past that were applied to ‘men, women, old, young’ no longer apply.
For example, young people reject love, middle-aged people reject sacrifice, and old people reject retirement.

---From the "Prologue"

The four-person family model was emphasized and expanded as the 'normal family ideology'.
The typical nuclear family with two children, where the father goes to work and the mother does the housework, was considered normal.
But the situation changed as the dark clouds of low growth rolled in.
It has become difficult for a standard family to even secure survival with just one income.
The housewife lost her ground.
The honor and value of being a mother and a housewife have fallen to the ground, like the reality of 'unpaid housework' where the honor and value of being a mother and a housewife is ignored.
This is the background to the emergence of working mothers.


On the other hand, low growth also put the brakes on my father's commute to work.
Constant restructuring forces middle-aged and older workers into irregular jobs on the periphery.
The pressure to retire is growing, and most people are left with the uncertainty of how long they will survive.
The normal family is now beginning to shake.
Traditional family roles are being discarded.
The end of the family economics realized through 'fatherhood' has accelerated the destruction of the normal family.
---From "Messages from 'Working Mom vs. Cooking Dad'"

Even if they are of similar middle age, middle age is differentiated depending on whether they have a family and the distance they live with that family.
The representative group of middle-aged people to keep an eye on at this time is the single group.
The number of middle-aged men and women living alone, which was once a very small number, has rapidly increased.
This is the result of the expansion of late marriage in people in their 30s into non-marriage in people in their 40s.
It's not that I've given up on marriage, but the barriers are getting higher and higher, so I'm left as a middle-aged single.
It's not that I decided to remain single for any special reason, but rather that social circumstances delayed my marriage.
While not mainstream, middle-aged singles are now readily available anytime, anywhere. TV shows that observe the daily lives of middle-aged singles in their 40s and 50s have long been a fixture. SBS's "My Little Old Boy" and "Burning Youth" have been airing for a long time and are among the most popular shows in their time slot.
With similar concepts emerging, the single life of middle-aged people in their forties, which would have been hidden in the past, is now a hot topic.
This means that middle-aged singles are starting to be accepted as a life model.

However, these middle-aged people have been marginalized in the consumer market.
This is because, despite being in the highest income bracket throughout life, middle-aged people's consumption behavior is focused solely on 'consumption for the family.'
But things will be different in the future.
As the size of the middle-aged group in the overall population grows, middle-aged people will emerge as a key player in production and consumption.
Middle-aged singles make spending decisions at a significantly different level than middle-aged people with families.
Instead of having a family, they are proactive in their own lives, aim to be glamorous singles even as they age, and prepare for the future early on as they will have to live alone for a long time.
Ultimately, the market has no choice but to focus on middle-aged singles.
Because they have a lot of money, they spend it well, and they are the main players who will lead consumption for a long time.
---From "Middle-aged Singles: How They Live"

Shared housing, where people share space, solves the dilemma of modern youth.
Because it is located at the point of compromise between a difficult family and unfamiliar strangers.
Rather than completely giving up the family function through marriage, one can expect appropriate utility by becoming part of another person's family.
It is especially suitable as an alternative family to a family because it is free and easy to disassemble and reassemble at any time.
The outlook for share houses is bright, as one-person households have become a major trend of the times.
In 2019, there were 5.99 million single-person households, and potential demand is also overflowing.


The number of share houses increased from 17 in 2013 to 1,020 in the first half of 2018.
While the traditional model of a blood-related family living under one roof is beginning to come to an end, the under-one-roof family is being absorbed as an alternative to each person living on their own.
A share house is a living community with others that is based on the premise of 'coming together'.
Nevertheless, it is essential to have some family functions.
In the past, it was focused on sharing space, but now it aims to share life as well.
It is developing into a form that deepens the usefulness of the family through ‘sharing → exchange.’
It appropriately fills the gap for young people who want a family but find it difficult to have one.

Young people are hesitant to get married, but their desire to be independent remains the same.
However, while in the past people lived with their parents and naturally created their own independent space after marriage, now there are many cases of people living independently but with a mate rather than a partner.
Living with a mate allows for bonding while saving money, which fits the growing demand for independence among millennials and Gen Z.
They are completing the share house by keeping a distance that allows them to feel warmth but does not interfere.
Set the relationship to 'more than friends, less than family'.
We pursue a lifestyle that is economically and emotionally connected, yet not tied down.

---From "The Meaning of Share Houses: Each Family Under One Roof"