Dynamic Korea

Korea's resident population has surpassed 50 million. That makes it the 24th most populous nation among the 194 member countries of the United Nations. Since March 1, 1920, when Korea’s Declaration of Independence referred to the country’s “20 million people,” there has been a three-and-a-half-fold increase in the population in the span of just 80 years. And it’s not just the population that has grown. In 1953, the per-capital GDP of South Korea was just US$67, making it the poorest country in the world. At the end of this year, that figure is expected to surpass $20,000. That marks a 298-fold increase in just 54 years!!! South Korea’s trade volume is the 12th largest in the world and its economy is the world’s 13th largest. Its shipbuilding, automobile, electronics and steel industries all rank among the world’s top five in terms of size. At one time, among many people felt South Korea’s goal should be to become a “small yet powerful nation.” The aim was to become like the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Singapore -- small countries that nobody could look down upon. Those countries all have populations of around 10 million. But when it comes to population, Korea is not small. But Korea faces major hurdles. Korean society is aging at the fastest rate in the world. The ratio of people capable of working (ages 15 to 64) was 72 percent of the country’s total population in 2005. But by 2050, that ratio is expected to drop to 53 percent. Right now, South Korea is an “8:1 society,” which means eight people capable of working are there to support one senior citizen. In 2030, South Korea will become a “3:1 society,” where there will be only three people capable of working to support one senior citizen. Starting next year, South Korea will introduce a senior citizens pension system that will cost taxpayers W2.4 trillion (US$1=W919). But that amount will rise to more than W16 trillion in 2028.

It is impossible to increase the size of North and South Korea’s land mass, which ranks 75th in the world in terms of combined size. And its energy resources are limited. The only way to overcome this situation is improve and modernize its human capital by boosting the level of knowledge possessed by individual citizens. And the only way to modernize human capital is through improving education. The future of South Korea and the future of its people depend on education. If Korea fails to do this, then South Korea will end up becoming a subcontractor to China, which is rapidly becoming the world’s production plant, while having to swallow the humiliation of becoming a technological colony of Japan, according to Choson Ilbo.

Korea has proven itself as a dynamic country in the last half of a century and it needs it dynamism to its full extend to remain competitive in a rapidly changing and an increasing dynamic environment.

(most of the text is adapted from http://english.chosun.com )