Young Koreans are determined to retire early before the age of 40 because of too much stress

Living the way you want is something everyone wants, that’s why Kim Min-jae gave up his dream job at one of Korea’s largest video game development companies to fulfill his wish. free.

Kim and his girlfriend are currently enjoying traveling, relaxing yoga, improving health, and going for an evening walk. They put work aside and no longer think about making money.

Kim Min-jae gave up his dream job at one of the largest video game development companies in Korea to fulfill his dream of freedom.

The 35-year-old is just one of several members of a FIRE lifestyle group – Financial Independence, Retire Early. This trend is prevalent not only in Korea but also in many countries around the world. FIRE was first popularized by the title Your Money or Your Life (1992).

FIRE pursuers often aim to live as frugal and save as much as possible so they can quit their jobs before the usual retirement age. After that, they spend the rest of their lives living freely with the money they have saved.

Desperate to retire early

Kim owns a net worth of about 1.8 billion won (equivalent to more than 33 billion VND). It was the amount of money he accumulated by saving up his monthly salary during his youth years. It is estimated that he saves about 90% of his salary every month.

This guy said that he achieved his goal with huge savings by eating only in the company canteen, avoiding spending on “luxury” things like designer clothes and expensive coffee. , use company credit cards whenever possible. Then, his monthly spending amount was only about 200 USD (equivalent to about 4.6 million VND).

“I have great colleagues at the company I dreamed of working for. However, I cannot control the workload and there is no guarantee that things will get better in the future,” Kim said. speak. He has been working as a game developer for 11 years.

For five years, he contemplated retiring early. In the end, it was the girlfriend who convinced Kim to make the final decision. The girl herself also quit her job in the game creation field in November 2021.

“I was very nervous for the first three months after quitting because I felt unfamiliar,” Kim said. “Meanwhile, my girlfriend is quite relaxed after quitting her job.”

The couple currently spends about 2 million won on living expenses and do not plan to get married until they are at least 55 years old. That is the age when they can get a loan with a home mortgage. It is government-sponsored policy.

“Our ultimate goal is to spend all of our savings before we die,” Kim said. “We have decided not to have children together.”

Retiring early because of the stress!

In the West, people who follow the FIRE lifestyle tend to be people with as much net worth as Kim. However, in the country of kimchi, many people in the FIRE group are “regular workers who are not satisfied with their work-life balance or even young unemployed people”. That is the opinion of former financial journalist Shin Hee-eun.

In 2021, a survey of 707 workers by the Korean job site Incruit showed that the average monthly salary of FIRE followers was 2.67 million won (nearly 50 million VND). More than a quarter of those surveyed identified an early retirement and said they plan to save about 40% of their salary each month.

Former journalist Shin said the movement started “taking root” in South Korea in 2017, when bitcoin and proactive investment strategies became more “prolific” than ever. In contrast, in the West, the movement began to gain traction after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.

“There isn’t a specific number of people following the FIRE movement in South Korea, but some online FIRE communities have tens of thousands of members,” Shin said.

Lee Taek-gwang, a cultural commentator and professor at Korea’s Kyung Hee University, said: “Suffering from workplace harassment and overwork has led many young Koreans to seek financial freedom before the normal retirement age.”

He said: “The rise of the FIRE movement in Korea is the result of a conflict between values, between the workplace and rigid organizational culture, and what young people really want. Just like other Asian countries. South Korea has a large salary gap. New hires at large corporations can earn more than 100 million won/year (equivalent to 1.8 billion VND). other unskilled workers can’t even afford to pay the rent”. Statistics show that the per capita income in Korea in 2021 is 37.44 million won.

Jeong Hyo-won (right) is the founder of Linchpin.

Unsatisfied with work is the reason why Jeong Hyo-won pursues the FIRE lifestyle. She quit her job at a research firm in 2018 to found Linchpin, a youth group that organizes weekly book clubs about investing and achieving financial independence. Linchpin currently has about 400 members across Korea.

“I kept reading books during lunch, my colleagues were very curious as to why I did it”she recalled.

“I feel that the very place I work is dragging me down and there is no motivation. I need to find another way. Young people are changing the way they want to live.” Jeong said.

Jeong said she is confident that the FIRE movement in Korea will continue to attract new members.

However, Mr. Lee pointed out that “the goal of accumulating for financial stability will be difficult to achieve” in the context of high domestic inflation and the possibility of a global recession.

Kim and his girlfriend weren’t worried at all. Aside from the savings, the couple has no debt and is confident in an investment that is mainly focused on real estate.

“The FIRE movement is not just about leaving your job, it’s about giving control of your life into your hands. You need to learn how to manage your finances, balance your life”I said.

According to LT