[Edaily Reporter Kim Min-jung ] A young man struggling with debt takes a part-time job that promises 50 times the minimum wage. Lured by the high hourly rate, he starts working, only to find himself in bizarre situations that even threaten his life. This is the story of the Netflix series “Sweet Part-Time Job,” which premiered on the 30th of last month.

According to FlixPatrol, a website that tracks online video service (OTT) rankings, on the 2nd, “Dead-End Job” (Korean title: “Honey Part-Time Job”) ranked second globally in Netflix’s TV Shows category. It took the top spot in 14 countries, including South Korea, and made it into the top 10 in 86 countries.

While “Dead-End Job” combines horror and fantasy with the theme of high-paying part-time jobs, the proportion of part-time workers among the 20s and 30s age group is also rising in reality. In particular, among those in their 20s—even as the total number of wage earners has been declining—the proportion of part-time workers reached its highest level since 2019.

According to the National Data Agency’s “August 2026 Economic Activity Population Survey: Supplementary Survey by Employment Type,” the number of part-time workers in their 20s stood at 759,000 as of August this year. This represents an increase of 126,000 (19.9%) compared to the 643,000 recorded in 2019.

In contrast, during the same period, the total number of wage earners in their 20s decreased by 487,000 (13.7%), from 3,555,000 to 3,068,000. Consequently, the proportion of part-time workers among wage earners in their 20s rose by 6.9 percentage points, from 17.8% in 2019 to 24.7% this year.

This means that roughly one in four wage earners in their 20s is working part-time. Although the growth in the number of part-time workers slowed after peaking in 2024, the proportion of part-time workers actually increased due to the overall decline in the number of wage earners.

The proportion of part-time workers has also risen among those in their 30s. This year, there are 391,000 part-time workers in their 30s, an increase of 47,000 from the 344,000 recorded in 2019. The proportion of part-time workers among all wage earners in their 30s also reached 8.0%, the highest level since 2019.

The total number of part-time workers in their 20s and 30s reached 1.15 million this year, an increase of 173,000 (17.7%) from 977,000 in 2019. During the same period, the total number of wage earners in their 20s and 30s decreased by 3.5%, from 8.246 million to 7.957 million.

The proportion of non-regular workers is also on the rise. This year, non-regular workers accounted for 43.8% of wage earners in their 20s, up 5.5 percentage points from 38.3% in 2019. Among those in their 30s, the proportion of non-regular workers stood at 24.1%, marking the third consecutive year of increase since 2022.

There was also a disparity in wage levels between part-time and regular workers. As of August this year, the average wage for part-time workers across all age groups over the past three months was 1,146,000 won, which was approximately 28% of the average wage for regular workers (4,052,000 won).

The difference in average monthly wages between the two groups widened from 2,238,000 won in 2019 to 2,906,000 won this year. However, since part-time and regular workers have different working hours, this cannot be interpreted as an hourly wage gap.

The National Pension enrollment rate for part-time workers was 19.2%, significantly lower than that of full-time workers (88.6%). This indicates that enrollment in social insurance also varies depending on working hours and employment status.

However, it is difficult to attribute the increase in part-time workers entirely to employment difficulties or livelihood issues. Part-time workers include college students balancing school and work, as well as those who have chosen shorter working hours due to personal circumstances.

Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the proportion of part-time workers is expanding even as the total number of wage earners among young people is declining. In particular, among those in their 20s, the change in their share of the total wage-earning population is more pronounced than the change in the number of part-time workers.