‘Hard to go back to working in Korea,’ Korean men head to Japan for jobs, marriage
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An increasing number of Korean men are looking to Japan not only for employment but also for marriage, drawn by what they see as more stable living conditions compared with Korea’s tough job market and demanding marriage expectations.
According to Shueisha Online, a Japanese media outlet, the number of Koreans seeking work or permanent settlement in Japan has been steadily rising. Data released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare show that the number of Koreans working in Japan increased from about 69,000 in 2020 to roughly 75,000 in 2024, an increase of around 8 percent over four years.
The trend reflects mounting frustration among young South Koreans with the country’s highly competitive employment landscape, which many see as leaving them little choice but to look abroad.
One such case introduced by the outlet is a 34-year-old Korean man identified by the pseudonym Choi Geon-woo. Choi majored in hotel management at a Korean university and pursued hotel jobs at home before spending time on a working holiday in Australia. In 2019, he secured a job in Japan and now works for a real estate-related company there.
Choi described his job search in Korea as punishing. “I applied to 10 luxury hotels in Seoul and got accepted by only one,” he said. “Many required a TOEIC (English proficiency test) score of at least 850, and there was even talk that men needed to be around 180 centimeters tall because appearance mattered.” He added that even after landing a job, long working hours and low pay eventually pushed him to leave Korea.
He contrasted that experience with life in Japan. “The pay is similar, but Japanese companies respect personal time, and there is almost no contact after work or on holidays,” he said. “After getting used to this lifestyle, it would be hard to go back to working in Korea.”
Military service seen as an advantage
Employment is not the only factor drawing Korean men to Japan. A rise in marriages between Korean men and Japanese women highlights another dimension of the trend. According to Statistics Korea, 1,176 such marriages were recorded last year, up 40 percent from the previous year and the highest level since 2015.
Experts point out that the heavy financial expectations placed on men in South Korean marriages play a role. Japan is often perceived as having less rigid conditions surrounding marriage, making it a more appealing option.
The outlet also noted that Korean men’s mandatory military service is viewed positively in Japan, where it is associated with responsibility and organizational experience. In addition, the popularity of Korean dramas and K-pop in Japan has contributed to favorable perceptions of Korean men, further fueling the increase in couples pairing South Korean men with Japanese women.
Shueisha Online said discussions in Japan this year have increasingly focused on coexistence with foreign residents, adding that with growing interest from neighboring South Korea, greater mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries will be needed going forward.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.