Improving the performance of youths in the labour market is a crucial challenge in OECD countries facing persistent youth unemployment. Korea has a sound education system, and is close to achieving universal secondary education, yet youth unemployment is on the rise and many young graduates are performing in jobs below their skill level. There is little vocational training and too few jobs for this highly educated workforce, which has led to many young people being neither in work nor in education. The Korean government has launched several measures to address these problems, some through special legislation enacted in 2004. This report is part of a series which looks at the school-to-work transition process in sixteen countries. Each report contains a survey of the main barriers to employment for young people, an assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of existing measures to improve the transition from school-to-work, and a set of policy recommendations for further action by the public authorities and social partners. DYK: Over 25% of Korean youths (aged 15-29) took more than a year to find their first job.