S Korea's dispirited young voters demand societal and economic change

Seoul

THIRTY years after South Korea became a democracy, voters from that period in the nation's history go to the polls on Tuesday frustrated over their prospects and demanding change as growth slows and job prospects fade.

The decades-long "Miracle on the Han" - named after the river that flows through Seoul - propelled the country from a war-ravaged ruin to Asia's fourth-largest economy and in the ranks of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

But its younger voters complain bitterly that times have changed dramatically from their parents' generation, when hard work paid off with wealth and success regardless of social origin.

Unemployment among youth - defined as those under 30 - has risen for five consecutive years to hit an all-time high of 9.8 per cent in…