Abstract
Since the 1960s, post-Korean War, South Korea has achieved remarkable economic success and has experienced many transformations such as urbanization, democratization, demographic transition, and changes in family life and culture. Older Koreans living today are the generation which has experienced all of these dynamic changes. While the traditional norm for old-age support in South Korea was family-centered support based on filial piety, the obligation to care for older adults has shifted from adult children to individuals and society. Although the current older Korean generation had responsibilities for supporting their older parents, they do not expect significant support from their children for their old age. South Korea has developed a number of social and health services and programs for older adults within a relatively short period time. However, due to the rapid pace of the aging population, some old-age support systems such as pension and long-term care have not matured enough. As the quickly aging population is projected to continue throughout the next several decades, significant effort is still needed to reflect the increasing needs of the older population.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cho, H., Kim, S., Noh, Y., Sung, M., Lee, S., Lee, H., & Chin, M. (2012). A study on the supporting services for family life redesign and family care in one centennial society. Ministry on Gender Equality and Family.
Do, M., & Choi, W. (2013). Perception of childbirth and childrearing among Korean married women. Asian Women, 29(3), 51–69.
Frejka, T., Jones, G. W., & Sardon, J.-P. (2010). East Asian childbearing patterns and policy developments. Population and Development Review, 36(3), 579–606. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00347.x
Ga, H. (2020). Long-term care system in Korea. Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research, 24(3), 181–186. https://doi.org/10.4235/agmr.20.0036
Ha, J. (2013). Health care policy for older Koreans. In Federation of Korean Gerontological Societies (Ed.), Ageing in Korea: today and tomorrow (3rd ed., pp. 31–51). Elderly Information Center.
Han, J. (2010). An economic asset and social capital of baby boom generation. Korea Labor Institute.
Han, J., et al. (2018, August 8). Overview of the Korean longitudinal study on cognitive aging and dementia. Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc6111226
Hyun, K., Kang, S., & Lee, S. (2016, October). Population aging and healthcare expenditure in Korea. Health Economics. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3209
Jones, G. (2007). Delayed marriage and very low fertility in Pacific Asia. Population and Development Review, 33(3), 453–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00180.x
Jones, G. (2018). What is driving marriage and cohabitation in low fertility countries? In R. Rindfuss & M. Choe (Eds.), Low and lower fertility (pp. 149–166). Springer.
Jones, G., & Gubhaju, B. (2009). Factors influencing changes in mean age at first marriage and proportions never marrying in the low-fertility countries of East and Southeast Asia. Asian Population Studies, 5(3), 237–265.
Kang, H. (2019, January 11). S. Korea launches community care program for vulnerable groups. Retrieved July 1, 2020, from http://koreabizwire.com/s-korea-launches-community-care-program-for-vulnerable-groups/130281
Khang, Y. H., Bahk, J., Yi, N., & Yun, S. C. (2016). Age-and cause-specific contributions to income difference in life expectancy at birth: Findings from nationally representative data on one million South Koreans. The European Journal of Public Health, 26(2), 242–248. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckv128
Kim, J., & Lee, E. (2003). Cultural and noncultural predictors of health outcomes in Korean daughter and daughter-in-law caregivers. Public Health Nursing, 20(2), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1446.2003.20205.x
Kim, T., & Han, S. (2013). Family life of older Koreans. In Federation of Korean Gerontological Societies (Ed.), Ageing in Korea: today and tomorrow (3rd ed., pp. 68–93). Elderly Information Center.
Kim, K., et al. (2011). A nationwide survey on the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in South Korea. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2010-101221
Kim, S. (2013). Income maintenance policy for older Koreans. In Federation of Korean Gerontological Societies (Ed.), Ageing in Korea: today and tomorrow (3rd ed., pp. 112–129). Elderly Information Center.
Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). (1990, 1994, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017). The national survey of living conditions and welfare needs of older Koreans.
Kontis, V., Bennett, J. E., Mathers, C. D., Li, G., Foreman, K., & Ezzati, M. (2017). Future life expectancy in 35 industrialized countries: Projections with a Bayesian model ensemble. The Lancet, 389(10076), 1323–1335. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32381-9
KOSIS. (2020a, March 19). Average first marriage age by province. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=101&tblId=DT_1B83A05&conn_path=I2
KOSIS. (2020b, February 28). Beneficiaries of the Korean national basic living security scheme. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from https://kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=677&tblId=DT_677002N_035&vw_cd=&list_id=00000189&scrId=&seqNo=&lang_mode=ko&obj_var_id=&itm_id=&conn_path=R1&path=
Lee, S. (2006). Familism and filial piety. Korea Journal of Population Studies, 29(2), 215–240.
Lee, Y., & Park, K. (2007). A study on the influencing factors of dementia caregiver’s life satisfaction. Journal of Nurse Query, 16, 135–156.
Maeda, Y., et al. (2019). Progression of hearing loss and choice of hearing aids by patients in their 60s, 70s, and 80s and older: Experience in the Japanese super-aged era. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 139(12), 1077–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/00016489.2019.1667531
Martin, L. G. (1989). Living arrangements of the elderly in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Demography, 26(4), 627–643.
Nam, S. I., Kim, J., Shin, J., & Yim, A. (2018). Later-Life Preparation Patterns on Depression Among Korean Baby Boom Generations. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 86(2), 172–190.
Ministry of Health & Welfare (MOHW). (2012). National Study on the Prevalence of Dementia in Korean Elders (8th ed.). Ministry of Health & Welfare.
Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW). (2019). Plans for trial implementation of integrated community care. Sejong, Korea.
National Health Insurance (NHI). (2019). The Korean national health insurance statistical yearbook. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.nhis.or.kr/nhis/together/wbhaec06300m01.do?mode=view&articleNo=10802543&article.offset=0&articleLimit=10
National Institute of Dementia. (2016). Korean dementia observatory. National Institute of Dementia, Korea.
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. (2016). Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: A pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19.2 million participants. The Lancet, 387(10026), 1377–1396. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30054-X
OECD. (2019a). Pensions at a glance 2019: OECD and G20 indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/b6d3dcfc-en
OECD. (2019b). Health at a glance 2019: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/4dd50c09-en
OECD. (2020a). Elderly population (indicator). Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1787/8d805ea1-en. Accessed on 2 Dec 2020.
OECD. (2020b). Fertility rates (indicator). Retrieved July 7, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1787/8272fb01-en.
Palley, H. A. (1992). Social policy and the elderly in South Korea: Confucianism, modernization, and development. Asian Survey, 32(9), 787–801. https://doi.org/10.2307/2645071
Park, J. (2013). The state of retirement savings and policy implications for Korean baby boomers. Health and Welfare Forum, 2.
Park, J. (2015). Aging society, aged society, super-aged society. Korea Development Institute.
Pimentel, D. (2013). The widening maturity gap: Trying and punishing juveniles as adults in an era of extended adolescence. Texas Tech Law Review, 46, 71–102. http://texastechlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/Vol.-46-Book-1.Pimentel.PUBLISHED.pdf
Qian, Y., & Sayer, L. C. (2016). Division of labor, gender ideology, and marital satisfaction in East Asia. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(2), 383–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12274
Rindfuss, R. R., & Choe, M. K. (2015). Diversity across low-fertility countries: An overview. In R. Rindfuss & M. Choe (Eds.), Low and lower fertility (pp. 1–13). Springer.
Rizzuto, D., Bellocco, R., Kivipelto, M., Clerici, F., Wimo, A., & Fratiglioni, L. (2012). Dementia after age 75: Survival in different severity stages and years of life lost. Current Alzheimer Research, 9(7), 795–800. https://doi.org/10.2174/156720512802455421
Song, D.-W., & Lee, K. (2017). A cultural analysis of the varying modes of survival and the particular structures of feeling among young adults in contemporary South Korea in an era of fierce competition and widespread social uncertainty. Korean Journal of Communication and Information, 84, 28–98.
Statistical Korea. (2020). Population projections for Korea. Retrieved July 17, 2020, http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/surveyOutline/8/6/index.static
Sung, K. T. (1990). A new look at filial piety: Ideals and practices of family-centered parent care in Korea. The Gerontologist, 30(5), 610–617.
Sung, K. T. (1995). Measures and dimensions of filial piety in Korea. The Gerontologist, 35(2), 240–247.
Sung, K. T. (2000). An Asian perspective on aging east and west: Filial piety and changing families. In V. Bengtson et al. (Eds.), Aging in East and West: Families, states, and the elderly (pp. 41–56). Springer.
Uematsu, H., Kunisawa, S., Yamashita, K., & Imanaka, Y. (2015, April 29). The impact of patient profiles and procedures on hospitalization costs through length of stay in community-acquired pneumonia patients based on a Japanese administrative database. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125284
United Nations (UN). (2019). World Population Prospects 2019. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_Volume-II-Demographic-Profiles.pdf
United Nations (UN). (2020). World population ageing 2019. United Nations.
World Bank. (n.d.-a). National accounts data, 1960-present. [Data set]. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=KR
World Bank. (n.d.-b). Fertility rate, total (births per woman). [Data set]. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=KR
World Health Organization (WHO). (2015). World report on ageing and health 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2020, from http://www.who.int/ageing/events/world-report-2015-launch/en/
Yang, S., Khang, Y. H., Harper, S., Davey Smith, G., Leon, D. A., & Lynch, J. (2010). Understanding the rapid increase in life expectancy in South Korea. American Journal of Public Health, 100(5), 896–903. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.160341
Yoo, S. H. (2016). Postponement and recuperation in cohort marriage: The experience of South Korea. Demographic Research, 35, 1045–1078. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26332103
Yoo, S. H., & Sobotka, T. (2018). Ultra-low fertility in South Korea: The role of the tempo effect. Demographic Research, 38, 549–576.
Yoon, G., & Eun, K. (1995). Understanding aging in Korea. Korea Journal of Population and Development, 24(2), 301–317. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43783468
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Minyoung Kwak and Dr. Hyunjoo Lee (Daegu University, South Korea) for providing the most up to date Korean statistics and discussions on current aging issues in South Korea.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kim, B. (2021). Aging in South Korea with Dynamic Social and Cultural Changes. In: Selin, H. (eds) Aging Across Cultures. Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76501-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76501-9_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-76500-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-76501-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)