Recently, South Korea has been experiencing another wave of "immigration," a population loss that could have a significant impact on the country's prospects.
According to a 2023 South Korean media survey, 56% of young people aged 20 to 30 are interested in emigrating overseas, while more than 70% of married couples aged 20 to 30 are considering emigrating.
According to South Korea's immigration bureau, about 600,000 people have emigrated to other countries every year for the past decade, and only 235,000 people will be born in 2023.
This loss of population poses a serious challenge for South Korea, especially as its population shrinks.
Although the number of immigrants in South Korea is not large compared with India and China, the total population of South Korea is only more than 51 million, and the number of registered overseas Korean immigrants has reached 7 million in 2020, equivalent to 15% of South Korea's labor force forced to leave the country.
Why is South Korea, as a developed Asian country, also facing immigration problems?
One of the most obvious reasons is the highly competitive and sexist social atmosphere in South Korea's education, as well as the increasing pressure to survive.
In South Korea, students are so stressed if they fail to get into elite schools such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University or Korea University that the country has been nicknamed the "Republic of cram schools."
In 2023, Korean households will have to cut their spending due to rising prices and interest rates, but spending on private education will continue to increase.
This has also led to an increasing burden on families with children. According to data from the third quarter of 2023, couples in South Korea spend an average of 629,000 won per month on education, accounting for 15 percent of the average monthly household consumption expenditure.
Under pressure from their children and anxious parents, young South Koreans are afraid to have children easily, while families with children struggle to find an escape.
South Korea's social structure is unbalanced, and many people choose to change their lot by emigrating.
According to a 2016 survey, 78.6 percent of South Koreans expressed a desire to emigrate, citing poor working conditions, high income inequality and worries about retirement.
Under the surface of social problems, there are enormous pressures to survive, such as employment, housing and education.
As the number of people in Korea continues to decrease due to the rise of unmarried people and infertility, the proportion of elderly people is increasing.
South Korea's working-age population is expected to decline to 46.1 percent by 2070, which could lead to a reduction in domestic productivity and consumption while increasing investment and welfare spending shakes the country's foundations.
If the environment is not suitable for survival, humans will stop breeding or migrate in large numbers.
The demographic problems facing South Korea are not just for the country to solve, they are also a warning of what we may face in the future.
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