Why Gen Z in Korea is flocking to bus driving jobs

Kwon Hyuk-woo, left, Song Seong-hwan, center, and Park Chan-dong, bus drivers for Gyeonggi Daewon Express who are in their 20s and 30s, pose at their office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times file

At the training center for KD Transport Group, South Korea's largest bus operator, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, boyish-looking men stood out among about 100 drivers gathered for safety training on Jan. 20.

According to the company, 47 of the 460 drivers at its Pangyo branch are in their 20s or 30s, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the workforce.

“Most of them joined within the last year or two,” a company official said. “It is unusual to see such a sharp increase in young applicants.”

Bus driving, once a job avoided by young workers, is becoming a magnet for Koreans in their 20s and 30s. Analysts attribute this shift to the introduction of the semipublic bus system, a model in which local governments cover operating deficits with tax revenue, coupled with a tough job market.

Data from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority shows that the number of people in their 20s and 30s obtaining bus driver licenses jumped 43 percent in three years, from 6,218 in 2023 to 10,931 last year.

The primary drivers of this trend are improved working conditions and shifting social perceptions. Since the early 2000s, major metropolitan areas like Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province have adopted a semipublic system, significantly boosting wages and job security.

Industry data shows that the average monthly salary for a metropolitan bus driver is now between 5.2 million won ($3,700) and 5.6 million won. Including holiday shifts, monthly pay can exceed 6 million won. Senior drivers in their 50s and 60s can earn more than 80 million won annually.

“I used to work in mobile network installation before switching to driving a bus a year ago,” said Kwon Hyuk-woo, 33. “Considering the pay and working conditions, people around me say I landed a 'good job,' and many of them are openly envious.”

A bus driver walks between parked buses at the Yangcheon Public Garage in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, March 27, 2024. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

Job security is another major draw. The retirement age for bus drivers is typically 63 — older than many corporate positions — and daily shifts are capped at nine hours.

Song Seong-hwan, 27, joined the industry on his father’s recommendation.

“My father, who is a bus driver too, told me it’s better than most jobs,” Song said. “The stress of driving safely is real, but I enjoy working alone without office politics or supervisors hovering. Plus, I like my job because it makes me feel like I play a role in keeping the city moving.”

Park Chan-dong, 35, who left a manufacturing job to become a driver, hopes younger workers can help reshape the industry’s image.

“In the past, this job carried a negative stigma,” Park said. “But young drivers like us want to change that and create a culture where we can say what we do with pride.”

Still, the job has challenges, including public criticism over strikes and the need for strict self-discipline.

“It hurts when people say drivers are just seeking personal gain with tax money whenever there is a strike,” one driver said. “We hope people see it as an investment in safety infrastructure. This job also demands such strict self-control that we can’t even drink freely or see friends often.”

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.