SOUTH KOREA: A social media trend spreading across South Korea has struck a nerve, leaving many people feeling hurt, angry and unheard.
Called the “poverty challenge,” the trend shows users presenting lives of obvious comfort — luxury cars, designer items and first-class flights — while jokingly describing themselves as poor. Captions like “this unbearable poverty” or “my exhausting life of being broke” are meant to be ironic, but for many viewers, they land as deeply insensitive.
Some of the most shared posts show instant noodles eaten in first-class airline seats, labelled as “extreme poverty,” or a Dior baby stroller costing about 15 million won ($11,000), blamed for pushing a family into “bankruptcy.” Others feature glossy photos taken from the driver’s seat of sports cars, expensive watches in full view, with captions complaining about not having money for gas.
A few posts go even further, showing large living rooms filled with pricey artwork, paired with lines like, “All I have are a few paintings and a dog.” What some intended as humour has felt, to many, like a slap in the face.
The response online has been overwhelmingly critical. People have asked why poverty — something millions struggle with every day — is being turned into a joke. Some said that simply showing off wealth would be easier to scroll past than pretending privilege is suffering.
Others pointed out how far removed the trend seems from real life. For families worrying about rent, skipping meals, or delaying medical care, the posts feel less like satire and more like ridicule. “This isn’t funny,” one commenter wrote. “It’s mockery.”
The backlash has also revived interest in Stolen Poverty, a 1975 short story by author Park Wan-suh, which explores how the wealthy borrow the idea of poverty as a style or story while never having to live with its consequences. The comparison has resonated online, especially as many people behind the trend appear to be well-paid professionals, including doctors and lawyers.
Critics say the “poverty challenge” strips real hardship of its human weight, turning struggle into entertainment. For those who know what it means to choose between food, housing or healthcare, the trend doesn’t feel ironic at all — it feels like being laughed at.
