SOUTH KOREA IS OVER

Summary

In its latest video, Kurzgesagt explores the alarming trajectory of South Korea's demographic decline. With a jaw-droppingly low fertility rate of 0.72, the country faces potential collapse in various sectors by 2060. This includes economic downturns, societal and cultural shifts, and potential military vulnerabilities. Despite minor upticks in births, South Korea's population is aging drastically, threatening its workforce and cultural legacy. Change is needed now to avoid a grim future, not just for South Korea, but globally.

Highlights

• South Korea's fertility rate is plummeting, now at a historic low of 0.72. 👶
• By 2060, population declines could result in South Korea being the oldest country ever. 📉
• Economically, South Korea faces a potential recession due to workforce shrinkage. 💼
• Cultural icons like K-Pop may struggle to find new talent as the young population decreases. 🎤
• Military service sustainability is questioned as the youth demographic shrinks. 🪖

Key Takeaways

• South Korea's fertility crisis is unprecedented, with the lowest recorded rate in history. 📉
• The population is set to decrease significantly by 2060, transforming societal structures. 👥
• Economic repercussions will be severe, risking widespread poverty among the elderly. 💸
• Culturally, South Korea could lose its vibrancy as younger generations dwindle. 🎭
• Without intervention, South Korea's military capabilities may be compromised. 🛡️

Overview

South Korea is facing a catastrophic demographic shift with a fertility rate at a historic low of 0.72 children per woman. This decline signals sweeping changes across the nation, expected to impact its economy, culture, and social fabric. Without drastic societal shifts to boost birth rates, by 2060, Korea could become a shadow of its former self.

Economically, South Korea risks entering a permanent recession due to a shrinking workforce. With fewer workers to support the elderly, and declining numbers of consumers, the impact could be devastating. The country's pension system may deplete, leading to higher poverty rates among seniors and increased governmental strain.

Culturally, the situation threatens the lively pulse of South Korean trends that the world admires. With fewer young people, traditions, and innovations like K-Pop may diminish. Moreover, societal structures could crumble as loneliness and aging exacerbate the decline, pushing the need for urgent reforms to encourage childbearing.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to South Korea's Crisis The chapter titled "Introduction to South Korea's Crisis" discusses the impending collapse of South Korea due to several compounding crises. It paints a grim picture of the country's future, highlighting extreme demographic challenges, economic instability, social and cultural issues, and military weaknesses. The chapter attributes these impending crises to a decades-long fertility crisis that is without precedent in human history, hinting at an irreversible decline by 2060. It raises probing questions about how this collapse will unfold and why it seems impossible to prevent.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Fertility Rate and Its Implications This chapter, titled 'Fertility Rate and Its Implications,' discusses the significant decline in fertility rates over time. It highlights the necessary fertility rate required to maintain a stable population, which is about 2.1 children per woman. The chapter provides historical context, noting that in the 1950s, South Koreans averaged 6 children per woman. However, by the 1980s, this rate fell below 2, reaching just 0.72 children per woman by 2023, marking the lowest fertility rate ever recorded. Additionally, it notes that the fertility rate in Seoul is even lower, at 0.55.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Population Decline Projections This chapter discusses projections of population decline in South Korea due to low fertility rates. It outlines a scenario where half of the women may not have any children, and the other half may have only one. This results in a dramatic reduction in population over generations. Specifically, if current fertility rates persist, 100 South Koreans today would produce only 5 descendants four generations down the line, demonstrating a significant population shrinkage. This projection is supported by the current shape of South Korea's population pyramid, indicating a real and pressing demographic issue.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Current Demographics and Future Prospects The chapter titled 'Current Demographics and Future Prospects' discusses South Korea's demographic challenges. It highlights a stark age imbalance with only 1 one-year-old for every four 50-year-olds, a product of four decades below the replacement level. While the immediate consequences have been hard to notice due to the current all-time high population, workforce, and GDP, the effects of these demographic trends are looming. The narrative warns about the impending demographic crisis likened to a 'freight train,' and encourages looking into the future, specifically imagining the state of the nation by 2060.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Economic Consequences The chapter titled 'Economic Consequences' discusses demographic projections for South Korea, highlighting recent fertility trends. It points out that the UN's medium fertility projections have been consistently overly optimistic, with actual fertility rates declining. The chapter suggests that the low fertility scenario, being more accurate in recent years, should be considered for understanding the country's future demographic landscape.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Projected Economic Recession In this chapter titled 'Projected Economic Recession,' the discussion revolves around future demographic changes, particularly focusing on South Korea's population projections for the year 2060. It is anticipated that South Korea's population will decrease by 30%, with 16 million people disappearing over a span of 35 years. This demographic shift will make South Korea the oldest country in human history, where half of the population will be over the age of 65, and less than 10% will be under the age of 25. These projections are a potential indicator of economic challenges that may arise due to an aging population.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Impact on Science, Technology, and Innovation The chapter titled 'Impact on Science, Technology, and Innovation' explores a hypothetical scenario characterized by a significant demographic shift. The narrative envisions a country with an overwhelming majority of elderly individuals, creating eerily quiet cities devoid of children and the vibrancy of youth. With entire cities abandoned, and half the population elderly, the societal infrastructure struggles to cope. A key point discussed is how a small segment of the population would be left straining to maintain societal functions, foreshadowing major consequences, including economic collapse. This chapter likely delves into how such demographic changes would affect scientific progress, technological advancement, and overall innovation, posing challenges and potentially stalling growth in these critical areas.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Societal and Cultural Challenges In 2023, 40% of South Koreans over 65 lived below the poverty line, a number that is expected to worsen by 2060.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Loneliness and Cultural Decline The chapter titled 'Loneliness and Cultural Decline' discusses the demographic and economic challenges facing South Korea. It highlights the shrinking number of workers per retiree, projecting a drastic decline by 2060, where there may be less than one worker for every senior. This imbalance could lead to widespread poverty among the elderly, forcing many to seek employment. However, finding jobs might be challenging due to a potentially collapsed South Korean economy by that time.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Potential Urbanization and Rural Decline This chapter discusses the correlation between the size of an economy and the size of its workforce, emphasizing that a larger workforce is key to producing and consuming more, thus contributing to economic growth.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Military and Security Concerns The economic outlook for South Korea is discussed, highlighting concerns about a potential economic recession beginning in the 2040s. This is based on current productivity trends and demographic projections, with some optimistic views suggesting a later start in 2050. However, these rely on medium UN demographic scenarios that seem unlikely at present. The chapter also touches on the influence of science, technology, and innovation on the economy.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Potential Solutions and Kernel of Hope The chapter discusses the pivotal contributions of different age demographics to societal wealth, highlighting the innovative potential of young adults and middle-aged individuals. It underscores the challenge of a diminishing workforce affecting government revenues, juxtaposed against the increasing financial burden of supporting an aging population. The resulting fiscal strain could force governments to reduce or eliminate essential services, such as healthcare and social benefits, particularly impacting smaller communities that might not sustain necessary infrastructure due to their reduced scale.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Factors Contributing to Low Birth Rates The chapter discusses the contraction of the country into metropolitan areas and the insufficient funds to invest in the future. It highlights the potential negative impact on South Korean society and culture, emphasizing that societal and cultural collapse could be an even greater issue. It notes the difficulty in speculating societal development but points out that currently about 20% of Koreans live alone and an equal percentage report having no close friends or relatives.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Gender Roles and Family Decisions The chapter titled 'Gender Roles and Family Decisions' discusses the demographic changes projected for South Korea by 2060. It highlights the growing trend of elderly South Koreans having fewer family members, with 50% having no siblings and 30% having no children. Furthermore, it shows that young adults aged between 25 and 35 will constitute only 5% of the population, and they generally have no siblings. These shifts suggest a future where the elderly will have minimal close family connections, and young adults will have fewer familial and friendship bonds, especially outside major urban areas. This situation is likely to lead to a severe loneliness epidemic and potentially trigger a substantial cultural decline in South Korea.
• 07:00 - 07:30: The Wider Implication of Global Trends In the year 2000, South Koreans aged 25-45 made up 37% of the population with 17.5 million individuals. This generation significantly influenced global culture through the spread of K-pop, K-drama, and K-food. However, by 2060, projections indicate only 5.6 million South Koreans will be in this age bracket, comprising just 16% of the population. Consequently, many cultural traditions are at risk of fading as older generations face challenges in passing them on to younger individuals.
• 07:30 - 08:00: Public Discourse and Awareness The chapter 'Public Discourse and Awareness' explores the future challenges faced by South Korea due to the declining youth population. It discusses the potential cultural and societal impact as young people disappear, leading to the loss of traditions and the vibrant cultural soul of the country. It questions the kind of upbringing future generations will have in a predominantly aged society by 2060. The chapter also raises concerns about youth culture, education, job prospects, and the political landscape in a nation lacking children, where educational institutions may become obsolete.
• 08:00 - 08:30: Conclusion and Call to Action The chapter discusses the demographic challenges faced by South Korea, focusing on the potential for young people to migrate to major cities like Seoul or even emigrate to other countries, leading to the decline of rural areas and smaller cities. The narrative draws parallels with Japan’s situation where approximately 10 million houses in rural areas are abandoned. It also touches on the geopolitical tension with North Korea, highlighting the ongoing technical state of war that could persist into the future, specifically mentioning 2060.
• 08:30 - 09:00: Promotion of Ground News The chapter discusses the challenge South Korea faces with its mandatory military service amidst a declining population. It highlights the need to increase military enrollment percentages by 2060 to maintain current levels. The text suggests that once demographic changes set in motion, such as declining fertility rates, they become difficult to reverse. Even if fertility rates suddenly increased to replacement levels, reversing the demographic shift would be complex.

SOUTH KOREA IS OVER Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 South Korea is over. This sounds brutal, but South Korea will soon  start melting on all fronts – demographically, economically, socially, culturally and militarily. Because for decades the country has been experiencing a fertility crisis unprecedented in human history. And we’ve probably reached a point of no return. By 2060, the South Korea we  know and love today will no longer exist. What will the collapse look like and  why is it now almost impossible to stop?
• 00:30 - 01:00 The (Real) Population Bomb To have a stable population you need  a fertility rate of about 2.1 children per woman. In the 1950s South Koreans  used to have 6 children on average. In the 1980s the rate fell below 2. And in 2023 it was 0.72 kids per woman,  the lowest ever recorded in history. In Seoul fertility is even lower, around 0.55.
• 01:00 - 01:30 On average, about half of the women here won’t have any kids and the other half just one. What do these numbers actually mean in the real world? If fertility stays as it is, then 100 South Koreans will have 36 kids. When they grow up, they will have 13 kids, who will then have 5. Within 4 generations  100 South Koreans will turn into 5. If we look at today's South Korean population pyramid we see this is pretty real:
• 01:30 - 02:00 There's only one 1-year-old for four 50-year-olds. After 4 decades below the replacement level, the consequences were still largely invisible. Today South Korea's  population is at an all-time high, as are its workforce and its GDP,  which is still growing. But demographics hits you like a freight train, you hear it vaguely in the distance and then it runs you over. South Korea is about to be hit. Let’s time-travel 35 years into the future, to 2060,
• 02:00 - 02:30 and see what the country will look like then. When it comes to demographics, the most commonly used projections are those put together by the UN. They envisage 3 scenarios: low fertility, medium and high. But in the past, all medium UN projections for South Korea have consistently been too positive. Between 2022 and 2023 alone, fertility in South Korea dropped by another 8%. So we are going to use the  latest low fertility scenario, which has been the most accurate in the last few years.
• 02:30 - 03:00 Keep in mind that we are still talking about projections and the future is a far away land. Ok! Let’s do it. In 2060 South Korea’s population pyramid will look like this: The population will have shrunk by 30%, 16 million  South Koreans will have disappeared in just 35 years. And it will be the oldest country in human history. One in two South Koreans will be over the age of 65. Less than 1 in 10 will be under 25.
• 03:00 - 03:30 And only 1 in 100 will be small children. Imagine waking up in a country where the streets are strangely quiet with no children playing on them. Entire cities have been abandoned. Half of the population is elderly and living either alone or in overcrowded retirement homes. With a minority of people  desperately trying to keep society running. There will be a few major consequences: Economic Collapse
• 03:30 - 04:00 In 2023 a breathtaking 40% of South Koreans over 65 lived below the poverty line, but in 2060 this number may seem lovely in comparison. Today South Korea has one of the largest pension funds in the world, worth about $730 billion. But it is projected to stop growing in the 2040s and be completely depleted by the 2050s. So in 2060 pensions will have  to be paid by the working population. Estimates vary, but for a pension system to work, the minimum a society needs
• 04:00 - 04:30 is between 2 to 3 workers per retiree paying for them with their taxes.   But even if we assume that all South Koreans over 15 will be working in 2060, the country will have less than one worker per senior. Workers will be unable to stem the incredible costs. So not only will poverty among the elderly  be common, but a big chunk will be forced to work. Except, they may not be able to find jobs because by 2060, the South Korean  economy may have collapsed.
• 04:30 - 05:00 Broadly speaking, the size of an economy is linked to the size of its workforce – to have a big economy you need a lot of workers to produce a lot of things, and a lot more people to buy them. Today, South Korea has about 37 million people  of working age, generating a GDP of about $1.7 trillion. But by 2060 its workforce will have  shrunk to less than half, to about 17 million. Of course technological progress means that productivity will be higher
• 05:00 - 05:30 and each individual will probably produce more than today. But even if productivity keeps growing at the same rate or more than we’ve seen in the last decades, South Korea’s GDP could peak in the 2040s. In other words South Korea will enter a permanent economic recession. There are more optimistic projections that see the recession begin as late as 2050, but they are based on the medium UN demographic scenario – and there are no signs that we are heading there. Another factor in the economy is  science, technology and innovation,
• 05:30 - 06:00 areas in which big leaps are typically  made by young adults and the middle aged. Young people have fresh ideas that contribute to the wealth of society. Significantly fewer people working also means way less tax for the government, which will be trapped between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand having to provide for half the population that are seniors, on the other seeing its income diminished. It will be forced to shut down or cut essential services like hospitals or social benefits. Since infrastructure only works at scale, smaller communities may be abandoned
• 06:00 - 06:30 as the country contracts into its metropolitan areas. And of course there won’t be enough money to invest in the future. This is bad. But what will happen to South  Korean society and culture may be worse. Societal and Cultural Collapse Speculating on how societies will develop is extra hard, but there are a few pretty unavoidable trends. Today already about 20% of Koreans live alone. Also 20% report having no close friends or relatives.
• 06:30 - 07:00 By 2060, 50% of South  Koreans aged 70 will have no siblings and 30% will have no children. Young adults between 25  and 35 will only make up 5% of the population   and typically have no siblings at all. This leaves the elderly with almost no close family, and young adults with little family and  few potential friends, especially outside of big cities.    A loneliness epidemic of  epic proportions is all but guaranteed. On top of that, South Korean culture will  probably experience a huge decline.
• 07:00 - 07:30 In 2000 there were 17.5 million South Koreans between 25-45, and they made up 37% of the population. This was the generation that  brought us K–pop, K-drama, K-food, and many other trends that spread around the world. In 2060 there will be just 5.6 million people in that age group, and they will only be 16% of the population. Many cultural traditions are already struggling because the older generations are having trouble finding young people to pass them on to.
• 07:30 - 08:00 As young people disappear, many traditions will die out. Without young people, the soul of South  Korean culture will shrink and wither away. And on a personal level, what kind  of experience will it be growing up in 2060? What will youth culture be like in a country of seniors? Where many universities, schools and Kindergartens are abandoned as there are no longer children to fill them with life? What kind of job prospects will  they face and what will politics look like?
• 08:00 - 08:30 If young people don’t want to remain alone, they will concentrate in Seoul or a few  other big cities – or worse for South Korea,   emigrate to other countries. Rural areas will decline and most smaller cities will turn into ghost towns – we're already seeing this in Japan, which has almost 10 million abandoned houses in rural areas. Large parts of South Korea  will simply vanish and be reclaimed by nature. Last but not least, South and North Korea are technically at war. And they could very well still be in 2060.
• 08:30 - 09:00 Will South Korea still be able to afford to have its young men do 18 months of mandatory military service? Today 5% of men of combat age are enrolled in the military – in 2060 it would have to be 15% just to match today's numbers. Ok, wait – this is all a bit much. Is there no way back? Why There Really Is No Way Back The problem with the demographic freight train is that once it hits, things become irreversible. Let’s say fertility in South Korea magically  triples to the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman
• 09:00 - 09:30 and stays there. In 2060 it will be an inverted pyramid on top of a barrel. And there would still only be 1.5 people of working age per senior over 65. Even in the best made up scenario, South Korea has to pass through  an unavoidable bottleneck before it will recover. But there is also a kernel of hope here. Yes, the situation is grim. But at least in the long term, recovery is possible if South Korea enacts rapid and societal changes that make its population want to have kids again.
• 09:30 - 10:00 In 2024 births rose for the  first time in 9 years – 3% more than in 2023. But for that to continue, South Korea needs to face  the music and ask how they got to this point. How Could it get that bad? In general, as societies get richer, more educated, and child mortality plummets, people decide to have fewer kids. What makes South Korea special is that it's somehow supercharging all of these trends.
• 10:00 - 10:30 South Korea lifted itself out of poverty in  record time, but in doing so it developed a unique kind of workaholism and extreme competitiveness. Although the work week is 40 hours and the legal maximum is 52 per week, unpaid overtime is normal for many and the government even proposed to raise legal work time to 69 hours per week. Despite this, South Korea has relatively  low wages and a high cost of living. Real estate in big cities is out of reach for most people. The cost of education is extremely high,
• 10:30 - 11:00 since families have to pay for private lessons  if they want to send their kids to a high tier college. All of this while South Korea spends less  on family benefits than most other rich countries. Old fashioned cultural norms make matters even worse. Marriage is all but mandatory if a couple wants to start a family – in 2023 only 4.7% of babies were born to unmarried women. Out of all developed countries, South Korean men do just about the least share of housework and childcare within their families.
• 11:00 - 11:30 This leaves women with a disproportionate amount of work if they want to keep their jobs after a pregnancy. While many men are overwhelmed by the societal expectation to be the main breadwinner and have successful careers. Starting a family or not is a personal decision. And most South Koreans are deciding against it. The bottom line is that South Korea has  created a culture that leads to very few kids. Conclusion Demographic collapse is not an abstract thing in the future, it is happening right now.
• 11:30 - 12:00 And it is not just South Korea. In 2023 China had a fertility rate of 1, Italy and Spain 1.2, Germany 1.4, the UK 1.6 and the US 1.6 –  which sounds so much better, doesn’t it? Well, after four generations, a fertility  rate of 1.6 means 60% fewer new people. A fertility rate of 1.2 means 87% fewer people.  And fertility rates are still falling,  with no sign of stabilization or recovery.
• 12:00 - 12:30 The weirdest thing about all of this is  that almost nobody involved in the public discourse has truly grasped the gravity of the situation. The last century was utterly  dominated by overpopulation narratives and people who say that we need more kids seem weird. And if you do the maths, the future  just seems to be too insane to be true, like it's hard to believe. None of this has ever happened before. So low birthrates are mostly discussed in the context of worker shortages – not the existential threat to our societies,  cultures, wealth and our way of life that they are.
• 12:30 - 13:00 If we don’t take it seriously very soon and change the DNA of our modern societies in a way that encourages young people to start having children again, then the rest of the century will be pretty grim – for those of us who will live through it. The demographic freight train stops for nobody – we finally need to realize  that it’s hurtling down the tracks right at us. Multilayered issues like demographic change are hard to break through in our current media landscape
• 13:00 - 13:30 and easy to miss out on. This is why we rely on Ground News,  a long-time sponsor and ally in helping find real stories of importance amongst the jumble of  information we’re confronted with every day. In a nutshell, the app and website gather the world's news in one place so you can compare coverage, see the bigger picture and make informed decisions. Using Ground News you can see that earlier this  year, South Korea was officially classified   as a superaged society, a term that basically  summarizes the effects we described in this video.
• 13:30 - 14:00 But less than 100 sources covered this development. Interestingly, less than 20% of them are left-leaning media. Ground News has a special feature, the  Blindspot feed, that draws attention to   stories like that which get lost amidst  your personal publication preferences. Most importantly, you can clearly  compare how the issue was covered:  a government-funded source out of Slovenia  for example mentioned Europe is considering   immigration as part of a solution while Korea, Japan and China are avoiding that aspect.
• 14:00 - 14:30 This way you can get a balanced account and come to a conclusion for yourself. We encourage you to sign up at ground.news/KIN or scan the QR code and save 40% off their unlimited access Vantage plan. Our link brings the price down to just 5 dollars a month. By subscribing viaground.news/KIN, your investment directly supports kurzgesagt  plus helps Ground News stay independent. And able to provide a tool that  is now more important than ever.