“SOUTH KOREA IS OVER”: The Shock about Korea’s Demographic Crisis and Three Proposals

Introduction

I was truly astonished after watching the “SOUTH KOREA IS OVER” video by Kurzgesagt, a famous science YouTube channel. This channel usually doesn’t focus on a single country, so it was fascinating that they chose to spotlight South Korea this time. I believe this alone proves how unique and abnormal Korea’s current demographic crisis is on a global scale. The portrayal of Korean society in the video was so accurate it gave me goosebumps, and seeing our issues laid out so clearly from a foreign perspective was quite shocking.

Empathy and Helplessness

I deeply sympathized with the content of the video and, at the same time, felt a great sense of helplessness. I’d heard a lot about the rapid decline in Korea’s birth rate and the resulting collapse of our population structure, but seeing such cold numbers and projections made me even sadder. In fact, Korea’s total fertility rate is among the lowest in the world, having fallen to 0.78 in 2022
(한국 망해간다…2000만 유튜브에 흘러내린 태극기, 왜? | 한국경제) and apparently dropped to an all-time low of 0.72 in 2023
(The end of South Korea: A falling birth rate will bring about a collapse of the population, economy, society, culture, and everything else. – GIGAZINE). It’s a number hard to believe, yet it’s reality. Kurzgesagt also analyzed that Korea has already reached the point of no return
(The end of South Korea: A falling birth rate will bring about a collapse of the population, economy, society, culture, and everything else. – GIGAZINE), and I really think that might be true. Even if, by some miracle, the birth rate started to rise tomorrow, the population pyramid has already flipped; it’s unlikely we’ll see any fundamental solution within one generation. As the video pointed out, if nothing changes, 94% of Korea’s young population will vanish within 100 years
(한국 망해간다…2000만 유튜브에 흘러내린 태극기, 왜? | 한국경제). The phrase “the country will collapse” doesn’t sound like such an exaggeration anymore. Confronted with such predictions, I felt overwhelmed that internal efforts alone might not be sufficient to reverse this massive trend. Indeed, the video also described a bleak future of stagnation due to an aging society, lack of innovation, and economic downturn, and it’s hard to deny those points, which made me feel even more depressed.

But on the other hand, I started thinking isn’t there any way to overcome this crisis somehow? The video suggested improving gender equality, providing childcare support, and stabilizing housing
(한국 망해간다…2000만 유튜브에 흘러내린 태극기, 왜? | 한국경제), but I wondered if those efforts alone would be enough. The root of the problem seems so deep that I came up with a few alternative solutions that might be considered somewhat radical, but they’re my personal ideas.

Personal Solutions: Three Proposals

1. Large-Scale Immigration Acceptance

The most realistic way to rapidly replenish the population, I believe, is to welcome a large number of immigrants from abroad. Since it seems difficult to increase the population through natural births in Korea, we could fill the shortfall by bringing in outside labor. Foreign workers from Southeast Asia and elsewhere are already essential in Korean rural and fishing communities, and indeed there has been a warning that Korea stands at a crossroads: “accept immigrants or bear the demographic decline.”
(New Immigration Policy Could Be The Solution To South Korea’s Population Decline : NPR) Fortunately, given Korea’s status and economic scale, there should be many foreigners who wish to live here. In particular, immigrants from Southeast Asia, geographically close, are likely to form the main group. Already, a considerable number of people from Vietnam, Thailand, etc., live in Korea, accounting for about 4~5% of the total population
(Minorities in Korea – Wikipedia). If that proportion grows significantly, it could give fresh vitality to the economy by securing labor and consumer bases, creating new communities and shops in deserted areas, and so on. Above all, an influx of younger foreigners might at least partially offset labor shortages caused by aging.

However, large-scale immigration carries potential for serious side effects and social conflict. Korea has long identified as a single-ethnicity nation and has historically been a highly homogeneous society with very little inflow of outsiders
(Minorities in Korea – Wikipedia). A sudden surge of immigrants could cause identity confusion for existing citizens and spark issues like cultural clashes, prejudice, and discrimination. In fact, Korea is often cited as a country where it is difficult for immigrants to fully become part of the settled population—many foreigners work in Korea, but they find it hard to obtain citizenship and face hurdles in settling permanently
(New Immigration Policy Could Be The Solution To South Korea’s Population Decline : NPR). Without addressing this exclusivity and institutional barriers, increased immigration could merely inflate numbers while failing at social integration. We also cannot ignore concerns about linguistic barriers, lifestyle differences, conflicts, and issues related to crime and public safety. In short, immigration may seem like an easy fix to the population problem, but without a mature attitude of acceptance and a thorough integration policy, it could create further chaos. Still, I personally think some degree of expanded immigration is inevitable. I hope for a gradual and systematic immigration policy to mitigate the shock while replenishing the population.

2. Unification with North Korea

The second idea is the unification of North and South Korea. Ironically, this option exists only because the peninsula is divided, and if it actually happened, it might be the only way to boost the population instantly. Currently, North Korea’s population is estimated to be about 26 million
(North Korea Population – Trading Economics), and combining it with the South could immediately create a 70-million-plus country. In other words, the numbers alone would be an immediate fix, regardless of birth rates. Moreover, since North Koreans share the same Korean ethnicity, we might expect cultural and linguistic commonalities to make social integration smoother than immigration would. The addition of young North Korean labor could expand the working-age population, and from a military perspective, solve the conscription resource problem for a while. In some ways, it’s an even more dramatic way to replenish the population than immigration, and I’ve actually heard some people say “this is the solution to our population crisis” when discussing unification.

However, in reality, unification is a double-edged sword that involves enormous risk and cost. The biggest problems are undoubtedly the economic burden and the difficulty of social integration. The economic gap between North and South Korea is unimaginably large. While the South has entered the ranks of developed nations, the North has remained underdeveloped and isolated for decades. Bridging this gap would require an enormous amount of capital and time, most of which the South would likely have to shoulder. Germany is a precedent: after unification, an astronomical sum was poured into revitalizing the East German economy, resulting in serious conflicts and regional imbalances between East and West Germans. Research shows that right after unification, East Germany experienced confusion so severe that its birth rate fell below 0.8 births per woman
(North Korea Can’t Solve South Korea’s Demographic Crisis – The Diplomat). Korea could face a similar chaotic transition if it unifies, devoting considerable resources to stabilizing the livelihood of Northern residents and integrating social systems. There are also numerous political obstacles in forming one government, which, if mishandled, could throw both the North and the South into major turmoil. Furthermore, North Korea’s birth rate has also declined significantly and is now around 1.9
(North Korea Can’t Solve South Korea’s Demographic Crisis – The Diplomat), so even if unification were achieved, the low birth rate problem would likely continue across the entire peninsula in the long run. In short, unification would increase the population numerically, but the social and economic costs and risks we’d have to bear are enormous. Personally, I still hope for unification someday, but I believe it’s dangerous to view it as a cure-all solution to the demographic problem. Ultimately, unification is a matter of political and humanitarian principle; it can’t be pursued simply to address population issues.

3. The Use of Artificial Intelligence and Robots

The third proposal is to put hope in technology. Specifically, maximally utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, under the scenario that as the population declines, machines will replace humans and solve problems of productivity and welfare. I feel we’re on the brink of an AI revolution, especially with the emergence of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, which greatly expand the boundaries of software-based intelligence. In fact, Korea already boasts one of the highest robot adoption rates in the world. A survey found that as of 2024, over 10% of Korea’s entire workforce has been replaced by robots
(More than 10% of South Korea’s workforce is now robotic, survey finds | FOX 5 Atlanta), and Korea ranks number one in the world with 1,012 robots per 10,000 workers
(More than 10% of South Korea’s workforce is now robotic, survey finds | FOX 5 Atlanta). This means the manufacturing sector, among others, is somewhat prepared for automation in case of a reduced workforce. Moreover, although we used to need human intelligence, judgment, and creativity in many areas, the latest AI is increasingly taking on those tasks. For example, AI is becoming reality in fields like medical diagnosis, customer service, education, and caregiving—areas of cognitive and emotional labor. We used to have the hardware (robots), but not enough software-based intelligence, so human labor was indispensable. Now it feels like more tasks are slowly shifting to machines. If AI and robots can support us as our working-age population shrinks, the productivity of each individual might rise significantly, potentially allowing us to maintain the overall scale of the economy. Also, robot caregivers might partly fill the shortage of caregivers, AI assistants could serve as companions for the elderly, improving elderly welfare, and other new solutions might appear for a future with a different population structure.

Of course, we must be wary of technocentrism, and we have to acknowledge that AI and robots are not a panacea. First, applying technological advancements in the real world takes time and money, and too much automation could lead to job losses and social inequality. It’s ironic that while a shortage of young people is a problem, AI could simultaneously reduce available jobs. Second, in areas like caregiving or education—where human interaction is crucial—machine replacement has its limits; it might cause quality deterioration because you can’t completely meet human emotional needs. Third, relying heavily on technology makes society vulnerable to unforeseen system failures, hacking, or errors. Nevertheless, I’m relatively optimistic, because AI is developing at such a rapid pace and Korea has the infrastructure and talent to utilize it. I think that the era of population decline and the era of AI advancement happening at the same time could be an opportunity in disguise. In the end, our problem is a shortage of hands, not a shortage of tasks, so if machines can replace those hands, that solves the problem—it’s a simple logic. We can’t predict how AI and robot technology will progress in the coming decades, but at least right now it feels like they’re the only hope that could break the equation “population decline = immediate national collapse.” If we actively embrace technological innovation and manage it wisely, I cautiously believe we can create a “fairly decent future” in which quality of life and economic strength are preserved even as the population decreases.

Conclusion

Kurzgesagt’s video made me revisit the Korean population issue with a deeper sense of urgency. Based on the data, the future seems bleak, but as a citizen of the world who also loves Korea, I sincerely hope Korea does not actually collapse. The ideas I suggested above are just personal thoughts, and in reality, each option would face practical difficulties and unforeseen factors. There might also be other variables we can’t anticipate, and I believe there’s still a chance the situation could improve if we’re lucky. The path ahead is certainly not easy, but if Korean society’s wisdom and resolve, plus a bit of luck, work together, we can hopefully overcome this demographic crisis step by step. I truly hope that Korea, after surmounting the current challenges, continues to thrive as a vibrant society.