Since the by-elections in April, the political world has been paying attention to the so-called '20s vote'. In June, a young man in his 30s was elected as the leader of the conservative opposition party. The ruling party leader is discussing a 'youth special minister', and the Blue House appointed a woman in her 20s as a youth secretary. The political world is shouting loudly. Now, the youth must become the main characters and we must listen to the voices of the youth. Another axis of the recent youth discourse is the so-called 'gender conflict' and 'generational theory'. The different positions of men and women in their 20s are being reproduced through the media under the name of 'gender conflict', and the 'generational conflict theory' that the hardships of today's youth are due to the older generation such as the 586 generation is also being continuously raised. The media and publishing industry are also churning out related content. The youth discourse is being changed under many names such as 'MZ generation', 'Ewha man', 'Ewha woman', and '90s generation'. In this, where does the 'real' youth living today in 2021 look like? Who is the real youth of this era? Are we missing something? KBS planned a large-scale social survey on the youth of this era. Together with media platform company alookso and Korea Research, they conducted an in-depth investigation and analysis of the perception and class of the youth generation. ■What determines the lives of youth: The birth of the study room class theory KBS and the research team decided to take a closer look at what determines the lives of youth. They asked six questions about the study environment during adolescence that were unrelated to individual effort. 1. I was able to focus on my studies without worrying about my livelihood. 2. There was a separate room for me to study in my house. 3. I could go to a study room or academy when necessary. 4. I regularly received allowance from my parents. 5. My parents wanted me to go to college. 6. My parents supported my studies. These were questions unrelated to individual effort or ability. The results of the analysis were divided into upper, middle, and lower groups based on the good study environment. And the three study room groups determined the lives of young people thereafter. The current job satisfaction of young people, their future job prospects, and even their interpersonal relationships were affected by the study room environment during their adolescence. Are we perhaps living in an era of 'study room class'? ■Misunderstandings about young people: Young people are not like that. This survey showed results that were quite different from existing common sense. Contrary to the fact that young people are known to prefer fairness and competition, competition was strengthened based on the older generation, and young people complained of fatigue from excessive competition. Regarding generational conflict, people in their 20s answered that Korean society was unfair, just like other generations, but they were weak in blaming the older generation such as the 586 generation. ■What is the real face of young people in 2021? Professor Shin Jin-wook of the Department of Sociology at Chung-Ang University, who participated in this survey and analysis, diagnosed that "the current youth generation is more divided internally than any generation born before." And he said that the core cause of this 'multi-layered division' is the gap. This refers to a generation born and raised in an era of inequality where social, economic, regional, and gender gaps are severe. One of the strongest gaps confirmed in this survey was the inheritance of parents' education. When we looked into the father's education according to the 'study room class theory' mentioned above, 60% of the fathers of the youth in the upper class of the study room were college graduates, but only 26% of the fathers in the lower class had graduated from college. In the case of fathers who graduated from middle school or lower, 2% of the upper class had graduated from college, but 21% of the lower class had graduated from college. Parents' education had a strong influence on their children's lives. The fair discourse based on meritocracy, which says that anyone can succeed if they work hard and acquire the ability, becomes shabby in the face of reality. Young people who are tired of their hopeless lives in fierce competition say, 'This life is ruined.' Let's hear their real stories. Broadcast date: Sunday, July 18, 2021, 9:40 PM KBS 1TV Reporter: Jiyeon Yoon Camera reporter: Taeseok Kim #Junseok Lee #Daenam Lee #YouthSecretary #Daenyeo Lee #Saengmang Lee #LocalCollegeStudent #Fair #Competition #BlueHouse_Youth_TF #Tanhee Lee #Hyunwoo Cheon #Current Affairs Planning Window #kbssisa 'Current Affairs Planning Window'