Bracing for the new world of ‘Gen Zalpha’

Yoon Seok-man
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The “simultaneity of the non-simultaneous” is a theory that can best explain Korea’s political, social and cultural developments since modernization. The concept was employed by Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) to understand the rise of Nazism in Germany against the backdrop of the Great Depression by observing the heterogenous social and economic factors coexisting simultaneously across Germany in the 1930s.

In his book titled after the concept, Lim Hyuk-baek, an emeritus professor of political science at Korea University, described the political and social conflict in Korea during the period of rapid growth as a result of the clash between pre-modernism and modernism. After importing democracy, Korea underwent numerous upheavals while trying to catch up with the Western society amid the gap in modernization. Bigger and wealthier countries were blindly envied.

There was a time lag in the adoption of Western ways until Gen X and Millennials reached their childhood and teenage years. Japanese culture came later since it was outlawed in Korea. Koreans got a taste of Japanese films, cartoons, and games through pirated copies. It was only after 1989 that Koreans were free to travel abroad. Koreans open to the West’s unfamiliar political and social systems and cultural content lived in the era of simultaneity of the non-simultaneous.

The non-simultaneity no longer exists for the young people these days, especially for the “Gen Zalpha” — a portmanteau of Gen Z born in the mid-1990s and Gen Alpha born in the 2010s. They learn global affairs simultaneously and are connected in real time through digital technology. People in Seoul can learn of what happened in New York earlier in the day, faster than those in Los Angeles. Koreans can discover the latest fashion trends in Milano faster than Italy’s closest neighbor Greece.

Korea has become a powerhouse in cultural content enjoyed on social platforms worldwide. Gen Zalpha can roam the world on their smartphones. A mobile device instantly connects to every corner of the world. The deepening of super-connectedness has crumbled the barriers of non-simultaneity in a simultaneous period. The Gen Zalpha are digital natives familiar with digital gadgets and technology from the cradle.

To the young whose life is mostly spent online, people from advanced countries are just their global contemporaries instead of a subject of envy or rivalry. The young in developing countries are savvier in digital lifestyles than old people in advanced countries. They feel closer to their own generation in other countries than the older generations at home.

Where will Korea stand when the Zalpha generation becomes responsible for the economy in a borderless world after 10 to 20 years? Of the 8 billion global population, those aged below 19 make up 33.2 percent, about 1.4 times larger than the share of those in their 40s and 50s, who make up 23.1 percent. But the demographic share will be the opposite in Korea. The share of those aged 0-19 would be just 15.5 percent, half of the 32.1 percent of those in their 40s and 50s, according to an estimate by Seoul National University professor Cho Young-tae. Korea’s future is bleak with its demographic proportion going out of sync with the global average, with no sign of improvement as its ultralow birth rate sinks closer to zero each year.

Superaged Japan shows a glimpse of where Korea is headed. Japan is slow in digital transition owing to the demographic structure. The Dankai generation born in the late 1940s still dominates social and economic power. Politicians trot out policies to win over the elderly votes. The artificial intelligence and robotic technologies in Japan mostly go to caring for the elderly. The demographic structure can influence the direction in economic policy and technology development.

The Korea that will enter a superaged society in 2025 faces grimmer prospects. The country’s birth rate was 0.78 last year, just half of Japan’s 1.4. The ratio will likely sink further to 0.6 this year. The unprecedented ultralow birth rate and fast aging may make the country disappear from the map. As the outline for pension reform suggests, policies are made in favor of the older generation. The phenomenon will worsen as the young take up a smaller share in vote counts.

The solution to the demographic risk must not be restricted to incentives for births. The opinions of the young generation must be better reflected so that they can survive against global demographic challenges. Since a superaged society cannot be avoided, the older generation also must stay young to survive a world packed with members of the Zalpha generation.