This study conducted an integrative literature review of 109 academic journal articles published in Korea from 2015 to May 2025, focusing on career-related difficulties and psychological career resources among middle-aged adults. The analysis revealed that external career barriers (95 cases) outnumbered internal barriers (47 cases). External barriers were categorized into three groups: career and job-related difficulties, labor market and socio-institutional challenges, and family and personal issues. Internal barriers were classified into four categories: career-related anxiety and burden, identity and self-concept difficulties, psychological and emotional challenges, and midlife crisis-related issues. Notably, career discontinuity and transition problems, labor market issues, job performance difficulties, and career-related anxiety emerged as key barriers. Psychological career resources were analyzed based on Coetzee’s theory, identifying five factors: career preferences, career values, career motivation, career skills, and career harmony. Among these, psychological well-being, satisfaction, reflection, and self-understanding—components of career harmony—were the most frequently reported resources. This study aims to comprehensively summarize the career difficulties and psychological resources of middle-aged adults in Korea, providing practical implications for career counseling, career education, and policy development targeted at this demographic.
Kim et al. (Sun,) studied this question.