AI Replacing Jobs Pushes South Korean Gen Z Towards Factory Floors, Survey Finds

AI replacing jobs is reshaping what South Korea's graduates want from work. A survey released on 5 November 2026 found university jobseekers now prefer factory production roles over information technology jobs, as fears grow that office work is easier for AI to take over. Production, field and quality control work topped the list of most wanted jobs, ahead of marketing, planning and IT roles.

The survey, by Vinu Labs, the operator of campus community app Everytime, covered 500 jobseekers in their third year of university or above, questioned in September 2026. One in five respondents, or 20.2 per cent, chose production, field and quality control jobs. Marketing, advertising and public relations came next at 13.4 per cent, followed by planning and strategy at 12.4 per cent. Development, IT and data drew only 11.0 per cent, little more than half the share of production jobs.

AI replacing jobs drives the shift to the factory floor

Gen Z job preferences, long fixed on the tech hub of Pangyo and companies such as Naver, Kakao, Line, Coupang and food delivery app Baemin, are shifting towards semiconductors and the production lines of the country's largest conglomerates. Analysts point to hopes of performance bonuses worth 100 million won ($74,700) or more, as well as a strategic search for jobs that AI cannot easily replace. Jobseekers even have a name for the best of these positions: "kingsanjik", which combines "king" with the Korean word for production jobs.

"As AI spreads and anxiety grows that office jobs will be replaced, Gen Z is paying more attention to work that is relatively hard to replace, like production and field jobs," a source at Vinu Labs Insight, the company's research unit, said.

Samsung remained the most preferred employer for a fourth straight year at 27.6 per cent. SK jumped to second place, its share rising from 7.8 per cent last year to 16.8 per cent. Naver, which had held second place for three straight years, slipped to fourth at 8.6 per cent. Kakao, third in 2023, dropped out of the top five at 2.4 per cent. Both companies have hired experienced workers on a rolling basis this year rather than holding open recruitment for new graduates as the spread of AI continues.

What graduates want from a job now

Asked what makes a good job, with multiple answers allowed, respondents chose high pay at 57.4 per cent, work-life balance at 53.2 per cent and job security at 41.4 per cent. A flat organisational culture, long cited as a value prized by younger workers, came last of nine options at 14.8 per cent.

Professional careers have lost some of their lustre. Asked to choose between becoming an accountant or lawyer and working as a semiconductor researcher at Samsung or SK, 59 per cent picked chip research. Given the same salary, 64.6 per cent said they would choose a large company outside the greater Seoul area over a startup in the capital region.

Not everyone sees factory work as a safe bet for long. "Hiring conditions for production, field and quality control jobs are good for now, but once physical AI such as robots is introduced in earnest, these jobs cannot feel secure either," Choi Seong-uk, head of the career support team at Sogang University, said.

What this means for jobseekers, including Nepali workers

The shift matters beyond South Korea. The country hires foreign workers for factory and production roles through the Employment Permit System, known as EPS, and production jobs are the lane most open to Nepali applicants. The latest EPS Korean language test drew 76,173 applicants, as the EPS language test figures show. For Nepali jobseekers, the Korean lesson is the same as at home: hands-on work such as production, quality control and maintenance holds its value longest, because it is the hardest for AI to copy.

The same pattern is showing up inside Korea's own offices. AI is already redesigning contact centre work in the country, as the AI contact centre redesign shows, while employers in India are hiring AI specialists faster than any other group, as the AI jobs hiring figures for India show. Routine office work is under pressure everywhere; hands-on and specialist roles are holding up.

How to apply, and what to do next

Nepali workers aiming for Korea must go through the official EPS channel only: the EPS Korea Section of the Department of Foreign Employment. The route runs through the Korean language test, then the jobseeker roster, then a genuine employer selection. No agent can sell an EPS place, and no genuine EPS placement charges a fee for the job itself, so any message asking for money for a Korea factory job should be treated as a scam.

For graduates in Korea, the survey points to a practical order of priorities: build production or semiconductor skills that employers can test, watch the rolling recruitment of experienced workers at Samsung and SK rather than waiting for open graduate intakes, and weigh large employers outside Seoul, where the survey found most graduates would now rather work. The factory floor is not a refuge from AI for ever, as the Sogang University warning makes clear, but for now it is where the jobs, the bonuses and the security are.

At a glance	Details
Survey	Vinu Labs, operator of campus app Everytime; 500 jobseekers in third year of university or above, surveyed September 2026; findings released 5 November 2026
Most wanted job	Production, field and quality control, 20.2 per cent
IT and data roles	Development, IT and data, 11.0 per cent
Most preferred employer	Samsung, 27.6 per cent; SK second at 16.8 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent
Performance bonuses	100 million won ($74,700) or more hoped for in production roles
Semiconductor research vs law or accountancy	59 per cent chose semiconductor research at Samsung or SK
What makes a good job	High pay 57.4 per cent; work-life balance 53.2 per cent; job security 41.4 per cent
Caution	Sogang University warns physical AI and robots could later threaten production jobs too

Sources: Korea JoongAng Daily at https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/gen-z-job-seekers-swap-it-offices-for-the-factory-floor/12958442 on the survey findings and employer rankings; Seoul Economic Daily at https://en.sedaily.com/society/2026/11/05/gen-z-job-seekers-pick-factory-floors-over-it-offices on the survey figures and release date.