Jobless

“1000 Euros=400 Euros for the room rent + 100 Euros for all the taxes + 200 Euros for shopping in the market + 50 Euros for the cell phone card + 50 Euros for transportation + 200 Euros for pizza, theaters, etc. (Should never be sick. Hospitals cost.)”

This is Claudio’s account note. A 27-year-old man with a job he could lose whenever and living with 1,000 Euros per month (about 1.21 million won) might look petty to some people, but he cannot afford to not keep the account diary. Claudio, the main character of the fiction work, “Generazione 1000 Euro,” is not alone with his affliction. Youth unemployment is serious in Europe. The French government triggered an enormous crowd to protest against the law bill, Contract Première Embauche (CEP), which revealed that an employer may dismiss new employees within two years from the start date of employment.

“Generazione 1000 Euro” gained fame even before it was published. Two young men around the age of Claudio age hit it off with each other in December 2005 and began to upload their writings on the internet website (www.generazione1000.com) they made. Young readers were feverish with this playful but factual fiction of Antonio Incorvai and Alessandro Rimassa, both of them freelance journalists, and journals in Europe such as Le Monde of France and Guardian of Britain competitively introduced the fiction.

This fiction tells the story of Claudio, irregularly employed in the marketing department of a multinational cell phone company, and his roommates Rossella, Alessio, and Matteo. They all live in conditions not very different from one another and therefore go through the resumes of their roommates or lend what small coins they have when another is short on living costs. The writers stretch out the story of these “Generation 1,000” Euro youths in an enjoyable style which is not too light but not too heavy.

Here are some tips from the survival manual for Generation 1,000 Euro youths introduced in the book.

Find Housemates-

The soaring room rent in Milano is unaffordable. Three lads live with Claudio. The three of them excluding Matteo, a debauchee from a rich family, do not feel very good about him, but they need whomever to share the room’s rent with.

Do Not Refuse Jobs You Dislike-

Alessio has the dream to become a film journalist but works as a public servant at the post office, and Rossella, with a degree in computer engineering, works as a babysitter. Companies do not pay you for sending resumes. Take any job to make a living.

Find Ways to Save a Penny-

Go to theaters in the twilight discount time, send messages over making a call, shop at discount marts, and use price cut coupons. If anyone laughs at the efforts to save a penny, remind that person of the saying, “Look after the pennies, and pounds will look after themselves.”

This fiction gives us the impression of the Western sitcoms which have become familiar enough to us. Interestingly, this story is actually being made into a movie. It gives us laughter after laugher, but also reveals a harsh reality and heavy afflictions. The youths are unable to afford concerts that interest them, or freedoms like going dancing to feel better or enjoying cool dates, because they have to pay the rents and the taxes.

The two authors became stars all of a sudden with the hit their internet novel made when it was published as a book. But they say they are still one of the “Generazione 1000 Euro.” “We live in an era when the ordinary lives of finding a job after college, getting married, having children and buying houses have become such a hard-to-realize dream,” say they authors.

Is it only the youths in Europe? The jobless youths in Korea who are afflicted with unemployment and the problem of irregular jobs will find this story to give them a series of heart-chilling laughter.

kimjy@donga.com