A Seoul National University professor's team charted Korea's future class pyramid for the year 2090.

A viral infographic sorts future society into four classes, from tech tycoons down to everyday workers.

Translated by Klore · Published Sep 14, 2026

Source & context

Trending on a Korean communityView original post ↗

● Some K-contextSociety MemeHow much Korea-context this story assumes. English translations and context by Klore.

Community postEnglish translation

Anonymous · 24.04.30 02:39

Korea's future class reality, 90 years from now.jpg대한민국 90년 미래 계급의 현실.jpg

Class 1: business owners who own tech platforms — 0.001%1계급 플랫폼 등 기술을 소유한 기업인 0.001%

Class 2: stars like popular politicians and celebrities — 0.002%2계급 인기 정치인·연예인 같은 스타 0.002%

Class 3: AI that'll replace jobs across society3계급 사회 전반의 일자리를 대체할 AI

Precariat class: everyone else — 99.997%, just regular workers프레카리아트 계급 나머지 99.997% 단순 노동자

Source: Prof. Yoo Ki-yoon's team, Seoul National University자료: 서울대 유기윤 교수팀

Future class forecast for the year 20902090년 미래 계급 전망

Prof. Yoo's team is right at the bottom, lol...가장 밑에 유기윤 교수팀이 있네...

120 votes on the original

Trending on a Korean communityView original ↗

💡 Wait, why is the joke about the professors who made the chart?

The top comment jokes that the researchers are actually beneath even their own bottom tier — implying that even elite academic work counts for nothing in this bleak future. It's a self-deprecating dig at how everyone, even the 'experts,' ends up disposable.vs. Reddit: like mocking a doomer chart's own analyst as unemployed in the scenario they predicted.Klore note

💡 Is this pyramid an actual study?

This chart is real — Professor Yoo Ki-yoon's team at Seoul National University published a 2019 forecast on future class structure that went viral for its stark inequality numbers.Klore note

What Koreans said

10 top comments on the original thread, translated

102 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Companies fight tooth and nail to avoid paying even tiny amounts of tax lol, why would they suddenly hand out basic income? Where's that money even coming from?
당장 코딱지만한 돈도 안 내려고 온몸 비틀기 하는 게 기업인데 대체 뭘 믿고 그런 걸 ㅋㅋ 그 돈이 어디서 나오는데, 기업이 미쳤다고 해주나?
59 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Back during the Luddite movement people also thought machines would kill all the workers.
뭐 러다이트 운동 때만 하더라도 기계 도입되면 노동자들 다 죽는다 생각했지
29 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Capitalists will be like 'oppressing people? I'm doing great, what are you talking about?' Just like 19th century Europe invented 'science' to justify racism, AI's future could go that same twisted route.
자본가 : 인간을 옥죄다니? 난 존나 잘 사는데 무슨 소리임? 19세기 유럽이 "과학적으로 흑인과 아시아인이 인간이 아닌 이유" 같은 걸 만들어냈듯이 AI의 미래도 그렇게 나아갈 수 있다고 생각함

Read all 10 translated repliesShow fewer replies

15 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Capitalists would never voluntarily share money — that's exactly why the hammer and sickle got invented, over a century ago.
? 자본가들이 자발적으로 돈을 나눌리 없죠 근데 바로 그 이유로 낫과 망치가 발명됐어요. 백년도 더 전에
15 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
People online are negative on basic income but I'm actually positive — there are reasons it becomes unavoidable economically. I think the bigger issue will be poor countries left out of AI entirely, they'll be the real dystopia.
루리웹 보면 기본소득에 부정적인데 난 긍정적임. 해줄 수 밖에 없는 여러가지요인이 있거든... 오히려 난 기본소득같은 논의보단 ai에 소외된 중저개발 국가가 더 문제가 될거라고 생각함
49 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Feels like a Cyberpunk-style dystopia is more likely honestly...
사펑 같은 디스토피아가 더 유력해보이는데...
51 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
If technology meant for humans ends up oppressing them instead, what's even the point of it?
인간을 위한 기술이 외려 인간을 옥죈다면 기술의 가치는 무엇일까
50 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Whether it becomes basic income or just bribe money will depend on that future society, damn.
기본소득제일지 매표값일지는 그 사회가 결정하겠지 ㄷ
25 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
If that kind of era actually comes, they'll probably have to do basic income.
저런 시대가 진짜 오면 기본소득제 하겠지
11 upvotes on the original thread
Anon· on the original thread
Feels like eventually someone will say 'there's too many people destroying the planet, let's just reduce the population' lol.
사람이 너무 많아서 지구환경 파괴가 심한거 같습니다. 세계인구를 좀 줄여보죠? 라는 반응 나올것 같음...

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