Analysis: Gen-Z disaffection to increase as foreign investors enter monthly rental market

With foreign investors driving up competition in the rental sector, the dream of home ownership is slipping further out of reach for many.

Significance. Foreign investors are rapidly expanding into South Korea’s monthly rental market, which will exacerbate Gen-Z’s existing frustrations with housing affordability. Traditionally reliant on jeonse—a long-term deposit-based rental system—young Koreans now face rising monthly rents as jeonse options dwindle.

With foreign investors driving up competition in the rental sector, the dream of home ownership is slipping further out of reach for many. This will intensify disaffection among Gen-Z, adding housing insecurity to their growing list of grievances, including stagnant wages and limited career prospects.

Combined, these pressures create fertile ground for increased political polarization and a turn toward extreme politics.

Analysis. South Korea’s housing market is undergoing a significant transformation. Historically, the jeonse system allowed renters to avoid monthly payments by providing …