With 20 percent of the population aged 65 and over, South Korea has become a 'super-aged' society. According to the data of the Ministry of Interior and Security, more than one million Koreans are in the "super aged" group.

South Korea seems to be in a serious demographic crisis with the official statistics that one in every five people belongs to the elderly group. The population of Korea is 51 million. 20 percent of it i.e. 12 million people are 65 years old or above . 22 percent of women and 18 percent of men are 65 years of age or older. 

The United Nations classifies any country with at least 7 percent of its population aged 65 or older as an 'aging' society. Likewise, if 14 percent of the population of this group is classified as 'aged' and if it is more than 20 percent, it is classified as 'super aged' society. 

In recent years, the number of people aged 65 and over in South Korea has been increasing year by year. In 2008, people in this age group accounted for 10 percent of the total population. It exceeded 15 percent in 2019 and reached 19.5 percent at the beginning of this year. Which has now increased to 20 percent. 

Not only in South Korea, but most of the East Asian countries have recently been caught in a serious demographic crisis, the data has shown. According to the United Nations, the number of people aged 65 and over is growing faster than any other age group.

In 2022, people aged 65 and over accounted for 10 percent of the world's population. The United Nations estimates that such a number will reach 16 percent by 2050. By 2050, people in this age group are projected to double the number of children under the age of 5 worldwide. 

Similarly, according to the World Health Organization, by the year 2030, one out of every six people in the world will be 60 years old or older. By 2050, this number will double. In addition, the organization estimates that the population of the age group of 80 years and older will increase by three times.    According to the

organization, such a problem has also started to appear in many European countries. But those countries depend on immigration. In countries like South Korea, Japan and China that do not depend on immigration, it is seen that there will be a terrible problem when the working manpower is low. 

Recently, the birth rate in South Korea is very low. South Korea's birth rate dropped to 0.72 in 2023. It is the lowest birth rate in the world . According to experts, pressured workplace culture, stagnant wages, rising costs, changing attitudes towards marriage and gender equality and growing disillusionment among the younger generation are the main reasons for the population decline.  

In addition to that, the population also decreased due to economic reasons. The Korean government has spent a lot of money to solve it. But the Korean officials say that the results are not as expected. 

The government of South Korea said in 2022 that the government has spent 200 billion dollars in the past 16 years to increase the population. The amount was spent on providing financial support to parents, distributing allowances, extending maternity leave, and campaigning to make men do household work and take care of children. 

The South Korean government is also making other efforts to solve the demographic crisis. President Yoon Suk Yeol addressed the parliament in May last year and called for the establishment of a new ministry to solve the "national crisis" in Korea.

is not only about old age, loneliness has also become a national problem in Korea lately. Thousands of South Koreans die alone every year, separated from their families, relatives and friends. In some cases, it is said that it takes a few weeks to find the bodies of the dead.

According to a recently published study, it was seen that 244,000 people live alone in 2022. Last year, 3,661 people died among those living in that way. According to the data of the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, such a number was 3 thousand 559 in 2022 and 3 thousand 378 in 2021. According to the ministry, 84 percent of those who died alone last year were men. More than half of them are men in their 50s and 60s.

The problem of loneliness is also becoming very challenging for the government. About two months ago, officials announced that 451.3 billion won (327 million US dollars) had been allocated for five years to make Seoul the capital "a city where no one is alone".

Under this, 'Loneliness Consultant' will be provided on the 24-hour hotline and there will be a consultant to meet lonely people . Officials hope to help people who suffer from loneliness recover and return to society .

It is said that expanded psychological services and nutritional food will be provided for middle-aged and elderly citizens and green areas will be developed. In addition to that, it is said that arrangements will be made to arrange a search system to identify citizens who live alone and for people to venture outside and to create an atmosphere of mingling with other people in the community, such as gardens, sports, and book clubs. Although

is more common in South Korea recently, this problem has also been seen in other countries. Such a condition, called 'Hikikomori' in Japanese, was identified for the first time in Japan in 2021. The following year, the Japanese government arranged a ministry for the expansion of 24-hour counseling services and social work.

Similarly, countries including Britain have also appointed a minister for loneliness. America was warned in 2023 that loneliness itself is an epidemic. The World Health Organization also formed a commission to combat loneliness in 2023. But due to materialistic lifestyle  Experts say that it is difficult to solve the problem of loneliness.