text/mowang

editor/yan ruyi

south korea's elderly are becoming the backbone of the workplace.

in the first half of this year, the employment rate of people over 70 years old in south korea exceeded 30%, surpassing college graduates and becoming the fastest growing group in all age groups in south korea.

last week, the korea national statistical office released the latest statistics:

in the second quarter of this year, the average monthly number of employed people aged 65 and above in south korea reached 3.94 million.

for the first time in 35 years, the number of employed people has exceeded the number of young people (15-29 years old) in employment.

in 2023, worknet, an employment information website operated by the south korean government, published more than 4.776 million job search information from all over the country.

among them, 960,000 were from people aged 60 and above, accounting for 20% of the total job search information.

at the offline "silver hair job fair" held in seoul, south korea, more than 1,000 security guards, cleaners, waiters and couriers were competing for positions.

tens of thousands of elderly people came to the venue for consultation, making the site completely packed.

this phenomenon of "reversing tiangang" shocked everyone.

why do korean elderly people love work so much?

do they still want to contribute to society at this age of retirement?

south korea's pension system under pressure

in fact, the life of korean elderly people is not very good.

according to statistics from the organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd) in 2020, the poverty rate for the elderly population aged 66 and above in south korea is 40.4%, nearly three times the average poverty level of oecd member countries.

among those aged 66 and above, less than half (46%) received pensions. of those who did receive pensions, 85% received less than 500,000 won per month, or about 2,620 yuan.

according to a survey by the korea national statistical office, the monthly cost of maintaining life after retirement is about 1.24 million won (about 6,630 yuan), and a more moderate monthly living expense requires 1.77 million won (about 9,460 yuan).

the actual pension received by south korean elderly people is less than half of what is needed to meet basic living needs.

why does south korea’s pension system allow such a serious poverty problem to occur?

what people don’t know is that the korean pension system, which seems so run-down, has actually been working very hard.

south korea's pension structure not only has a reasonable "three-legged" structure, but also ranks high in size worldwide.

south korea's pension system mainly consists of three parts:

"public pensions" for all citizens, "occupational pensions" for employees who retire from companies, and "personal pension plans" that can be joined voluntarily.

among them, the national pension plan (npf), a "personal pension plan" institution established only in 1994, is actively engaged in foreign exchange reserves and diversified financial management under the operation of a professional investment management team and auditing agency.

today, it has grown into the world's third-largest sovereign pension fund, after japan and norway.

in addition, the total size of south korea's pension reserves is also considerable.

when measuring the quality of a country's pension system, "pension as a percentage of gdp" is the most important model.

generally speaking, the larger the proportion of pension to gdp in a country, the earlier the pension system was established and the larger the amount of pension already saved.

the treatment of the elderly will be better.

the above chart shows south korea’s “pension ratio to gdp” in recent years.

it can be seen that in 2021, this proportion has reached more than 75%.

looking at the world as a whole, this can be considered an excellent level.

however, such a mature pension system is still held back by south korea's aging population and extremely low birth rate.

in 2021, the proportion of the population over 65 years old in south korea was 16.65%, slightly lower than the united states and higher than australia, and only about 3% lower than switzerland, a major aging country.

in contrast, in the united states, australia and switzerland, three countries with similar levels of aging as south korea, the proportion of pensions to gdp is all above 160%.

in contrast, south korea's 75% is like a candle in the wind.

among all developed countries, south korea was the last to establish a pension system.

and it wasn't until 1999 that pension payments became mandatory in south korea.

this backwardness not only makes south korea's pension savings base relatively weak, but also creates huge pension risks for those people who did not voluntarily pay pensions before 1999.

they have the same aging problem as high-welfare countries, but without their pension reserve levels.

the problems that arise can only be paid for by individuals.

however, the difficulties faced by korean elderly people are not limited to these.

old age and youth, the most acute contradiction

in korea, the first dilemma faced by most elderly people isit is because i am unemployed even though i have not yet reached the age to receive pension.

there is a strange phenomenon in korean companies and enterprises:

when employees reach the age of 45-55, their careers usually beginencourage them to "retire voluntarily".

according to south korean media reports, starting from 2022, companies such as lotte duty free shop, lotte mart, and lg electronics' "lg best shop" are all implementing a "voluntary retirement" system.

in the past year, nearly 2,400 employees left south korea's five major banks through "voluntary retirement."

in order to encourage employees to retire voluntarily, some companies also provide subsidies and benefits.

south korean shipbuilding giant hmm has stated that in order to encourage employees to apply for "voluntary retirement", it will provide retirement subsidies equivalent to two years' annual salary to employees with 10 years of service, and provide tuition subsidies for their children.

in recent years, there is a popular proverb in korea:

retiring at 45 is an honorable exit.

retiring at 56 is a wage thief.

management in the workplace will never show mercy to employees who reach the "voluntary retirement" age but do not leave their original jobs immediately.

they even resorted to deception and forged contracts to get the elderly to leave and then refused to provide compensation.

on the largest forum in south korea, many people were deceived by their companies and left their jobs, and had to seek redress and help from netizens.

the best they can do is to pray for a good outcome to their rights protection efforts.

ultimately, the reason why south korea has been so supportive of early retirement policies in recent years is related to the economic environment.

affected by various factors such as the continued decline in population, south korea's overall economic vitality is insufficient and has entered a downward phase.

without government subsidies, enterprises can be said to be struggling.

older employees who hold senior positions in these companies receive higher salaries, but their efficiency in generating revenue from their work may not be as good as that of a young person who is just entering the workplace and is full of energy.

the so-called honorary retirement is nothing more than an excuse for companies to save costs and optimize their personnel structure during layoffs.

as a result, these old employees who have been eliminated by young people can only enter the "silver market" dejectedly and seek the second career stage of their lives.

in addition to being excluded from the workplace, the entire korean society is also filled with a strong atmosphere of anti-age sentiment.

it is well known that the korean workplace has a strict hierarchy.

in the workplace, even if you are already a world champion, you still have to cook and wash dishes for your senior players and serve them respectfully.

now, young koreans, who have long been resentful, have begun to "clean up the workplace."

on korean social media, young people have gradually changed their previous respectful attitude and have been criticizing their predecessors and superiors without restraint.

in workplace forums, many posts that initially discuss work matters eventually turn into one-sided emotional outbursts and attacks by young people in the company against older superiors.

let’s take a look at the help posts from old employees who were bullied in the workplace.

they were all his peers who shared the same suffering and advised him to “be patient, you will retire soon.”

conflicts between young and old people in south korea also occur outside the workplace.

south korea's working-age population has fallen sharply as its fertility rate continues to decline.

in order to ensure that the pension system can continue to support the elderly, young people who are working must not pay a larger proportion of the "national pension fund" than before.

in fact, the mandatory collection ratio of south korea's pension funds has been rising since the national pension plan was launched in 1998.

in 1998, the pension fund was paid by enterprises at 1.5% and employees themselves at 1.5%. by 2007, the total contribution rate had increased to 15.85%, with individual contributions reaching 9%.

this is equivalent to one-tenth of the salary being forcibly taken away every month to support elderly people the person does not even know.

this considerable expenditure has also caused many young people to develop a distant resentment towards the elderly.

last year, in a cafe in seoul, an elderly man was handed a small note by the owner because he stayed too long while enjoying his coffee in the store.

the note read:if you keep sitting here, young people won't come to my shop anymore.

how long will the twilight years of old age last?

under the unspoken policy of "voluntary retirement", confused koreans are driven out of the workplace at the age of 50.

thus, the fundamental reason for the prosperity of south korea's silver-haired job market emerged:

the south korean government’s established pension payment age starts at 61, and this number will be increased year by year to 65 after 2033.

this results in an income vacuum of about 10 years between being forced to "actively retire" and receiving a pension.

many people have not changed the spending habits they developed while working, but their income has disappeared.

if the financial planning for voluntary retirement is not done correctly, the elderly will soon find themselves starving before they receive their pension.

they had to go back to work and continue looking for work to make a living.

the good news is that although they are no longer welcome in south korea's mainstream workplace, the gig industry and small and micro businesses that are short of labor due to the plummeting birth rate have opened their doors to them.

japan's nhk tv station once launched a documentary about the re-employment of korean elderly people.

one of the protagonists in the film, kim hyun-jung, is 60 years old. before retirement, he worked as a manager in a bank with a monthly income of about 4.8 million won (about 24,000 yuan).

in the documentary, after retirement, in order to fight for a courier job with a monthly salary of 800,000 won (about 4,300 yuan), he even rolled up his sleeves at a job fair to show his arm muscles to the staff.

in the documentary, many people do not have kim hyun-jung's dignity and luck.

park jae-yo, 71, has been a courier for 4 years.on average, he needs to deliver more than 100 express parcels every day and work at least 3 days a week.

in order to save on travel expenses, he uses the free subway ride privilege for people over 65 to deliver express packages to every household by subway every day.

in addition to enduring their own poverty, korean elderly people usually have an entire family to worry about.

in korea, people who are neither employed nor looking for a job are called "kangaroos."

a survey in june 2023 showed that the population of "kangaroo tribe" in south korea aged 20 to 39 was as high as 613,000. among these young people, about 70%, or 428,000 people, lived with their parents.

more than half.

these "kangaroos" not only rely entirely on their parents for food, clothing, housing and transportation, but they also travel and entertain with friends regularly, which continuously generates expenses.

〓 a sign on the door of a coffee shop reads "no entry for people over 60 years old"

on the other side of the "neet" group are the lonely elderly people who are "not supported".

according to a 2019 survey by the korea institute for health and social studies,only 23% of south koreans believe that children should support their parents.after most young koreans become independent and work, they will not support their parents’ lives, and they don’t even think that any unexpected situations that arise with their parents are any of their business.

those elderly people who fully believed that they could get help from their children were abandoned without any consultation. without adequate preparation for retirement, they could only spend their sad old age torn between loneliness and poverty.

as a result, korean elderly people, who are under tremendous pressure in all aspects, generally have mental health problems.

depression and even suicide have become the norm in their lives.

the owner of the "jembonei" hotel on jeju island, south korea, has decided not to accept tourists over 39 years old.

in an interview, he said the decision was "painful" but inevitable if he wanted to keep his business going.

he couldn't mix young customers with the elderly in the three dormitory-style rooms, which would cause trouble for the young customers.

〓 the hotel prohibits people over 49 years old from entering

once you get older, it becomes difficult to decide what happens to you.

even in harsh environments, it is difficult for the elderly to change their situations on their own.

no one cares, no one pays attention. although i am still alive, the world treats me as if i don't exist.

this is exactly the "chronic pain" faced by the elderly in south korea.

sociologist thomas r. klassen in his book "aging tigers: south korea's retirement dilemma" infers that at the current rate of aging, south korea's pension stock is expected to be in deficit in 2044 and will be completely used up by 2055.

perhaps, for the elderly in south korea, now is the best time.