THE BROAD VIEW
What today’s youth slang reveals about Asia’s fertility crisis
Growing numbers of young people no longer believe in the old social bargain
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WHEN communities invent new words to describe how young people feel, policymakers should pay attention. And when different societies adopt remarkably similar words, they should become worried.
Today’s youth slang for unhappiness is a case in point.
In South Korea, young people talk about “Hell Joseon”, a bitter phrase comparing modern Korea to a rigid, feudal hierarchy. In China, “tang ping”, or “lying flat”, became shorthand for refusing to overwork in a race that no longer seems worth winning.
