🚨 Sandwich Generation

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2025.10.15

0️⃣ Busan City's Support Policy for Ages 35-54 and Dual Burden Solutions

📌 Busan City launches full support for 35-54 age group 'sandwich generation'... 91.8 billion won investment in 32 projects

💬 Busan City announced a comprehensive support plan for the 35-54 age group 'sandwich generation' who are responsible for both raising children and caring for elderly parents. They will invest a total of 91.8 billion won by 2028 to implement 32 projects across 6 areas including jobs, housing, finance, education, and culture. The sandwich generation is economically active but faces heavy burdens from children's education costs and parents' medical expenses, and has been relatively neglected in policy structures focused on youth and elderly. Busan City enacted Korea's first 'Sandwich Generation Support Ordinance' in 2023, and this is the first 4-year comprehensive plan. It includes practical life stability support such as re-employment for women with career breaks, job transition for closed small business owners, and housing cost relief.

💡 Summary

• The sandwich generation is people aged 35-54 who face the dual burden of raising children and caring for elderly parents.
• Busan City will invest 91.8 billion won by 2028 to promote 32 projects in 6 areas.
• The focus is on practical support closely related to daily life such as jobs, housing, finance, and culture.

1️⃣ Definition

The sandwich generation means middle-aged people between 35 and 54 years old who face the dual burden of caring for elderly parents above and raising children below. The expression "sandwiched" means being caught like a sandwich between the younger and older generations, representing the situation of being responsible for both generations at the same time.

They are in the most economically active period of their lives, but face high consumption burdens from children's education costs, housing expenses, and parents' medical costs, leaving little room for savings. Also, they are not direct beneficiaries of youth support policies or elderly welfare policies, so they are in a policy blind spot.

💡 Why is this important?

• They are the core age group leading regional economic production and consumption.
• Economic stress from dual burdens can reduce the vitality of society as a whole.
• Essential for completing the social safety net by eliminating policy blind spots.
• Their stability directly leads to the stability of entire families.

2️⃣ Current Status and Main Problems of the Sandwich Generation

📕 Economic Burdens Faced by the Sandwich Generation

• Child-raising costs are a heavy burden on households. The main status is as follows:

  • Private education costs and university tuition take up a significant portion of household spending.
  • Support for adult children such as wedding funds and housing is also increasing.
  • Average education spending for households aged 35-54 is estimated at 500,000-1 million won per month.
  • Especially households with high school and college students face the biggest burden.

• The burden of caring for parents is increasing at the same time. The main problems are:

  • Due to aging, the period requiring financial support for parents' medical and living expenses has become longer.
  • Nursing home costs and caregiving expenses are also significant.
  • When parents' retirement preparation is insufficient, children must fully support them.
  • With fewer siblings, there are fewer family members to share the caregiving burden.

📕 Policy Blind Spots and Social Problems

• It is difficult to receive benefits from existing welfare policies. The main limitations are:

  • Youth job policies mainly target those under 34 years old.
  • Elderly welfare policies are concentrated on those over 65.
  • Customized support policies for middle-aged people are relatively lacking.
  • Many are excluded from welfare benefits because their income exceeds basic livelihood security recipient standards.

• Career breaks and employment instability are serious. The main realities are:

  • For women, career breaks due to child-rearing occur frequently.
  • When re-employed, they must accept lower wages and unstable employment than before.
  • For men, after middle-age job loss, it is difficult to find re-employment, so many transition to small business.
  • The closure rate of small businesses is high, causing significant economic damage.

💡 Main Problems Faced by the Sandwich Generation

1. Dual burden: Responsible for both raising children and caring for elderly parents
2. High living costs: Household pressure from education, medical, and housing expenses
3. Policy blind spot: Neglected in youth and elderly-focused policy structure
4. Career breaks: Especially difficult for women to return to work
5. Lack of savings: Insufficient retirement preparation due to high expenses

3️⃣ Busan City's Sandwich Generation Support Policy Details

✅ Overview of 32 Projects in 6 Areas

• Job support accounts for the largest portion. The main contents are:

  • Operate customized job training and re-employment support programs for women with career breaks.
  • Provide education and employment connection services for job transition of closed small business owners.
  • Develop jobs friendly to middle-aged people and match them with companies.
  • Consulting and initial funding support are also considered for those who want to start businesses.

• Practical support for housing stability will be prepared. The main plans are:

  • Reduce housing cost burden through lower interest rates on lease deposit loans or deposit support.
  • Consider giving priority to the sandwich generation when supplying public rental housing.
  • Support for remodeling costs to improve living environment is also included.
  • Expand supply of larger apartments for multi-generational households.

✅ Support in Finance, Education, and Culture

• Various programs will be operated to ease financial burdens. The main measures are:

  • Expand preferential interest rates or repayment deferment for children's education loans.
  • Establish emergency living fund loan system to support parents' medical expenses.
  • Provide free financial counseling and asset management education.
  • Consider voucher or point systems to ease living cost burden.

• Increase access to education and cultural services. The main contents are:

  • Expand lifelong education programs for the parent generation.
  • Provide cultural events and experience programs that families can participate in together.
  • Operate psychological counseling and stress management programs for the sandwich generation.
  • Provide discounts or free passes for local cultural facilities.

✅ Expected Effects and Future Tasks

• Practical life stability effects are expected. The main effects are:

  • The quality of life for the sandwich generation will improve with reduced economic burden.
  • Household income can increase through re-employment and startup support.
  • Life stability will increase with housing and financial support.
  • Psychological stress is expected to decrease through participation in leisure and cultural activities.

• Policy sustainability and spread are important tasks. The main measures are:

  • The budget of 91.8 billion won must be efficiently executed and performance periodically evaluated.
  • If Busan's case succeeds, it is likely to spread to other local governments.
  • Central government-level sandwich generation support policies are also needed.
  • Ways to expand the scope of support through cooperation with private companies should also be considered.

4️⃣ Related Terms Explained

🔎 Sandwich Generation (International Term)

• Sandwich generation is a similar concept to Korea's "squeezed generation".
  • The Sandwich Generation refers to middle-aged people caught between caring for both parents and children. This term was first used by American sociologist Dorothy Miller in 1981, metaphorically expressing the situation of being pressed between generations like filling between bread slices.
  • Characteristics of the sandwich generation include: First, they are in the most economically productive age but use a significant portion of income for caregiving. Second, they face the dual time burden of simultaneously performing work duties and family care. Third, they experience stress from meeting expectations of both parents and children emotionally. Fourth, they neglect their own retirement preparation, resulting in future anxiety.
  • Busan City's term "squeezed generation" is similar to sandwich generation but is used in a broader sense encompassing difficulties in overall life including jobs, housing, and finance, not just caregiving burden. This is Busan City's own term definition to clarify policy targets and expand support scope.

🔎 Women with Career Breaks

• Women with career breaks are women whose careers were interrupted due to childbirth and childcare.
  • Women with career breaks means women who quit their jobs or had their careers interrupted due to pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, or family care. According to Statistics Korea standards, it refers to married women aged 15-54 whose careers were interrupted due to marriage, pregnancy/childbirth, childcare, children's education, or family care.
  • Main causes of career breaks include: First, even with maternity leave systems, returning to work is difficult in reality. Second, due to lack of childcare infrastructure, many have no choice but to resign because there's no place to leave children. Third, work-life balance is virtually impossible due to long working hours and overtime culture. Fourth, careers are also interrupted when parents or spouses need caregiving.
  • Re-employment for women with career breaks is very difficult. The longer the career gap, the lower the re-employment rate, and even when re-employed, they often must accept lower wages and unstable employment (non-regular, part-time) than before. Busan City's sandwich generation support policy includes job training and re-employment support for these women with career breaks as a core project.

🔎 New Middle-Age Re-employment Support Project

• The new middle-age re-employment support project is a government program for employment stability of middle-aged people.
  • The new middle-age re-employment support project is run by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, supporting re-employment education, job training, and job placement for middle-aged people (new middle-age) over 50. It has been promoted as part of the "New Middle-Age Third Life Foundation Building Plan" that started in 2017.
  • Main support includes: First, identify individual strengths through career design and career counseling. Second, strengthen re-employment capabilities by supporting job training and certification. Third, connect actual jobs through job fairs and company matching. Fourth, for those who want to start businesses, provide startup education, mentoring, and funding support.
  • Busan City's sandwich generation support policy is implemented in connection with such central government new middle-age policies. Especially important is support for job transition of closed small business owners - providing job training and employment connection so small business owners over 50 can transition to wage workers after closing. Since the sandwich generation policy targets ages 35-54, the age range is lower than new middle-age policy, but can utilize similar support systems.

🔎 Regional Economic Core Group

• Regional economic core group means the key age group leading production and consumption.
  • Regional economic core group means the age group that plays a central role in being most economically active and simultaneously handling production and consumption in the local community. It generally refers to mid-30s to mid-50s, and they are both core workers in companies and main consumers in local commercial areas.
  • Economic roles of the core group include: First, increase productivity by working as middle managers or skilled technicians in companies. Second, create local employment as self-employed or small business owners. Third, lead consumption and pay significant taxes with the highest income level. Fourth, are the core group for durable goods consumption such as home and car purchases.
  • Busan City's definition of the sandwich generation as the "core group of the regional economy" is to emphasize their economic importance. If the sandwich generation reduces consumption or cannot properly conduct economic activities due to economic difficulties, the entire regional economy loses vitality. Conversely, active support for them can create positive cycle effects such as improved productivity, increased consumption, and job creation. Therefore, sandwich generation support can be seen as part of a regional economic revitalization strategy, not just a welfare policy.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do I check eligibility and apply for sandwich generation support?

A: Anyone aged 35-54 living in Busan can apply according to eligibility requirements for each project.

• The sandwich generation support policy targets citizens aged 35-54 with resident registration in Busan. However, additional eligibility requirements may differ for each detailed project. First, for job support projects, those seeking employment or in career break status are eligible. The women with career breaks re-employment program targets women whose careers were interrupted due to childcare or family care, and closed small business owner job transition support targets those who closed businesses within the last 3 years. Second, housing support projects may give priority to homeless people or households below certain income levels. Third, financial support prioritizes households with heavy burdens of children's education costs or parents' medical expenses.
• Application methods differ by project, but most can be checked through announcements on the Busan City Hall website or each district/county office website. Some allow online application, while others require visiting community centers or related agencies. For details, inquire through the Busan City call center (051-120) or contact the Busan City Hall Jobs and Economy Division directly.

Q: What support can sandwich generation in other regions receive?

A: Regions outside Busan don't yet have sandwich generation-specific policies, but can utilize similar middle-aged support projects.

• Currently, Busan is the only place that clearly defines the sandwich generation and implements comprehensive support policies. However, other regions also have similar support projects for middle-aged people. First, the Ministry of Employment and Labor's new middle-age re-employment support project can be applied for anywhere in the country. While mainly targeting those over 50, late 40s can also receive some support. Each regional employment center provides counseling and education. Second, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's career-interrupted women support policy operates nationwide through Women's Re-employment Centers. You can receive job training, employment placement, internships, etc.
• Third, each local government has various programs such as education for small and medium enterprise employees, startup support, and living stability fund loans, so check through your local city/county/district office website or community center. If Busan's case successfully settles, other regions are likely to introduce similar policies, so future spread can be expected.

Q: Will the sandwich generation support policy actually be effective?

A: Practical life stability effects are expected, but continuous budget securing and policy evaluation are important.

• Busan City's sandwich generation support policy is expected to bring positive effects in several aspects. First, if re-employment of women with career breaks and closed small business owners increases through job support, household income will increase and consumption capacity will emerge. This leads to regional economic revitalization. Second, if living cost burden decreases with housing and financial support, savings capacity emerges and future anxiety eases. Third, quality of life improves and psychological stress decreases through participation in culture and education programs. Fourth, the social safety net becomes more comprehensive by eliminating policy blind spots.
• However, there are several tasks for policy sustainability and effectiveness. First, monitoring is needed to ensure the 91.8 billion won budget is efficiently executed over 4 years and reaches those who actually need it. Second, performance of each project must be periodically evaluated and improvements supplemented. Third, it should not remain just Busan City's policy but expand to central government-level sandwich generation support policy to achieve nationwide effects. Fourth, participation of private companies and civil society needs to be encouraged to supplement parts difficult to solve with government budget alone.

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