想显年轻，却被嫌用力过猛？韩国40岁一代的尴尬

But he was bewildered to find out that men his age have become the subject of ridicule online, mocked for shoehorning their way into styles associated with Gen Z and younger millennials.

The kids call them “Young 40s”.

In Korea, age difference, even by a year, forms the basis of social hierarchy.

But Korean youth are showing a growing scepticism of this almost forced reverence for elders.

Just a few years ago, the term “kkondae” was another buzzword among young South Koreans to describe an annoying breed of rigid, condescending elders.

Over the past year, “Young 40” was mentioned online more than 100, 000 times - more than half the references were used in a negative context, according to analytics platform SomeTrend.

Some see the jokes about Young 40s as a form of punching up: these are people at the peak of their careers, who amassed wealth in a time of economic stability and a property boom.

But Ji, the 41-year-old fashion enthusiast who lived through the so-called golden era, tells a different version of that story.

After experiencing the Asian financial crisis as a teen, Ji entered a tough job market in his 20s, submitting around 60-70 applications to land a job.

Now at the workplace, he often finds himself sandwiched between two worlds.

The generation above him ran a “strict, top-down system where you did what you were told”, while below him is “a generation that asks ‘why’’”.

“We’re a generation that has experienced both cultures.

We feel caught in between.”