A man in his 20s who left Samsung Electronics and got a job as a bus driver appeared on the tvN entertainment program "You Quiz on the Block (You Quiz)."
Episode 347 of You Quiz, which aired on the 17th, featured Lee Seung-jun, 29, who quit a large corporation and became a bus driver. Lee said his annual pay decreased but the job is stable and less stressful, so he is satisfied with life as a bus driver.
When host Yu Jae-seok said, "I heard the number of bus drivers in their 20s and 30s has surged over the past three years," Lee said, "Don't corporations in Korea have a top-down culture?" adding, "Bus driving has a horizontal structure, so there is no stress from bosses at all, and that's the best part."
He also said, "The retirement age is 65 and I drive only four days a week, so after becoming a bus driver I've had more free time and take an overseas trip once every month or two."
When asked about his pay, he said, "It varies slightly by local government, but the starting salary begins at 50 million won," adding, "In just the last five to 10 years, monthly pay has risen a lot, and I learned that early, so I joined early with the mindset of buying at the bottom."
When asked about his previous pay at Samsung Electronics, he said, "Five years ago my annual salary was 50 million won, and I received a 30 million won performance bonus," adding, "We also got employee stock under an 'our stock' plan, so I earned a lot of money." Lee worked at Samsung Electronics for six years before resigning.
As for why he decided to resign, he said, "Over six years my mentor changed three times," adding, "Seeing bosses who couldn't stay long, I thought I, too, could be offered an involuntary or voluntary retirement at a young age, so I wanted a stable job."
He also said, "When I reported to a superior, I heard, 'How many years of experience do you have that you're asking about things like that while working?' and when I took initiative, I heard, 'Why didn't you report and just do it your own way?'" He added, "I didn't know which tune to follow," and said he even heard a regional slur like, "Is it because you're from Gyeongsang Province?"
He said, "In a confined space I felt like I couldn't breathe," adding, "When I walked in a park and felt my breathing open up, I wondered, 'Is this stress from people?'" He said, "When I resigned I felt like I had become a dropout from society, but I thought I might die at this rate. Now my annual pay is relatively lower, but I'm satisfied."