Aging of South Korea

[2] Aging is often caused by the dramatic improvement of living standards derived from the development of science and medicine, increasing the life expectancy of the average individual; however, a decrease in birth rates can be a major contributor.

[3] Until the 1980s, it was widely believed that this demographic trend would end and that the population would eventually stabilize, but birth rates continued to decrease.

[4][5] Analysts state that South Korea's current low birth rates are caused by the country's high economic inequality, including the high cost of living, low wages for an OECD member country, lack of job opportunities, as well as rising housing unaffordability.

This suggests that if the South Korean preference for male babies is weakened, balancing the gender ratio, the negative effect on the birth rate may be removed.

[12] After the post-World War II baby boom led to a drastic population increase, the South Korean government implemented an anti-natalistic policy in the 1960s.

This government program mandated that South Korean healthcare centers provide a family planning consultation by introducing traditional contraception methods including intrauterine devices, vasectomies, and condoms to the public.

[3] In the twentieth century, selective abortion of female fetuses had an important impact on the low birth rate.

[19] Korea, like other East Asian countries, has a society with much competition and demands on individuals (from an early age at school and later in the workplace).

The UN projects life expectancy will continue to improve; by 2100, the average baby born in South Korea will live to the age of 92 (89 for men, and 95 for women).

A separate study published in the Lancet showed that women in South Korea are projected to be the first in the world to have an average life expectancy above 90 – with the researchers predicting a 57% chance this will happen by 2030.

[24] As the aging population of South Korea is rapidly increasing, one of the major effects of this is that more people will be requiring frequent hospital visits and access to physicians, beds, and other healthcare services (Kang et al., 2023).

A study which used an “Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area” method was able to measure the spatial accessibility among the older populations in South Korea (Kang et al., 2023).

Chul Chung, President of Korea Economic Research Institute said:[25] "The declining fertility rate leads to a decline in the workforce and purchasing power and slowing economic growth, which in turn directly affects the sustainability of corporate management, meaning companies need to actively address the issue.

In 2013, the Korean government revealed that if the fertility rate continues to decrease, the number of people ages 9 to 24 years old will decline by 50% from 2013 in 2060.

[28] A survey from the Health Ministry in 2012 reported that more than 83% of respondents believe that this aging society will lead to more taxes and a labor shortage.

This outcome can lead to a boost in a country's economic growth by altering its age distribution, resulting in a greater number of working-age individuals and fewer dependent young children and elderly people.

[29] South Korea's declining birth rate has become a national-security challenge: Fewer young men are around for military service.

[30] South Korea's measures to combat aging and its effects include strengthening income security for retirees, finding ways to increase productivity to compensate for the reduction of the working-age population, and taking the leap to an aging-friendly economy.

[31] The Korean government implemented a new policy in 2006 that aims to improve reproductive healthcare services to resolve the low fertility rate.

[32] This planning includes support for daycare and preschool education and economic benefits for multi-child families, such as social insurance.

[33] The purpose of this policy is to create a positive environment for parents to have more than 2 children by decreasing medical and child-rearing expenses and providing a better support system for working mothers.

[33] Moon Jae-in, the president in South Korea who was elected in 2017, announced that the government will expand a subsidy for parents of young children to triple the proportion of infants and toddlers looked after by publicly run centers.

[33] The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that this government's improved plan would increase the standard of living for an entire generation and resolve the problem of low fertility rate in the long term.

Researchers named Shin and Sok used a 20-question survey created by Yun which asked elderly participants about their emotions and life experiences.

Results found that those living with family members were less likely to consider suicide, develop depression, and experience deteriorating health conditions (Roh & Weon, 2022).

In this case, several studies reported that elderly who live alone but who partake in regular physical activity and social relationships have higher overall life satisfaction (Roh & Weon, 2022).

As the decrease in the number of people available for production began in earnest in 2016, they are devising measures to utilize women, middle-aged and foreign workers.

Therefore, the 3rd basic plan aims to foster the industrial sectors such as medical care, tourism, and food related to the elderly, and to support the development of universal design and user-oriented elderly-friendly products.

Meanwhile, in order to cope with the reduction of school age population due to low birth rate, they will promote university structural reform, teacher training, and reschedule supply and demand plan.

[31] In order to cope with the declining population in rural areas due to aging and urbanization, the government also proposes measures to revitalize return-to-home villages.