By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

They grew up playing Nintendo games, witnessed as a child the post-1988 Olympics economic boom, enjoyed cutting-edge IT tech through college and landed jobs just in time after the 1997 currency crisis subsided. By and large, those belonging to Generations X and early Y are considered as ones born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Ironically, they are now facing growing pains in their early adulthood.

Unemployment, unaffordable homes and the rising cost of everyday living are cornering this once-blessed breed into situations they've never experienced before.

``It's finally time for these heavily dependent souls to stand on their own feet,'' says Kim Bo-kyung, chairman of the Samsung Economic Research Institute's Trend Forum. ``The problem is their lack of core abilities to be self-sufficient.''

He said the generations, who are mostly offspring of the hardworking baby boomers, have been spoilt so much throughout their lives that they ``simply don't know how to earn for themselves.''

They try to go after easy, fancy jobs, he says, exemplifying the current supply and demand imbalance in the local job market.

According to the National Statistical Office, the local unemployment rate among the young, particularly in the 20-29 age bracket, jumped to 7.6 percent in March. This is at a time when more than 95 percent of small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) are struggling from a shortage in manpower.

``The Generation X and Yers who are talented enough to create their own software and programs don't want to work in a small computer maintenance company,'' says Kim. ``It's their natural instinct to avoid below-par jobs.''

Such high standards contributed in seating this picky bunch as one of the highest group of debtors in recent history. According to government data, a record high number of those in their 20s and 30s have delinquent credit. So much so that President Lee Myung-bak even fronted clearing their poor records as part of his campaign.

And when it comes time to buy a house, which are often priced out of the reach of most, they are forced to take out excessive loans from banks, plunging them further into debt.

According to a recent survey of 1,000 working men and women in their 20s and 30s, the majority of respondents admitted to taking out hefty loans of more than 35 million won ($35,000) to shoulder costs.

Jean Twenge, the author of ``Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled ― and More Miserable Than Ever Before,'' said, ``They seem to be looking into the future and understanding they may not have it as easy as their parents.''

The same situation seems prevalent in other parts of the world, with the L.A. Times recently reporting that financial worries are ``jarring for a younger slice of the workforce that has known little but long-term financial prosperity and optimism.''

In Australia and the U.K., members of this generation have been labeled the ``houseless generation'' due to rising costs.

``Once considered thoughtless spenders, this struggling generation must be paid close attention to because they account for a big chunk of tomorrow's leaders,'' said Yoon Yeo-pil, a research fellow at the Hyundai Economic Research Institute.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr