More Young People Open Small Businesses

Many businesses folded last year due to the coronavirus lockdown, but more young people opened their own small hair salons, online shops or computer repair businesses that do not require a lot of capital to start.

According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, 4.12 million small businesses were on the books in 2021, down 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Small businesses employ fewer than nine workers with annual sales ranging from W1 billion to W12 billion (US$1=W1,274).

Some 213,000 small businesses had owners in their 20s or even younger, up 11.7 percent compared to 2020. The number of small business owners in their 30s also increased four percent.

But businesses owned by people in their 40s, 50s and 60s dwindled 0.8 percent, 1.9 percent and 2.7 percent.

The main reason for the increase among young people seems to have been that they saw no hope of finding other employment. Employment among Koreans in their 20s declined 4.6 percent in 2020 and rose only three percent last year, prompting many to open their own small business.

Wholesale and retail shops had 244,000 young owners, up a whopping 16.4 percent, while hair salons, repair shops and other service businesses had 18,000 owners, up 12.5 percent.

There was also a 1.5 percent rise in realtors with 3,000 young owners amid the panic-buying frenzy as apartment prices skyrocketed, but now the market is stagnant they may have gone out of business again.