Education reform can curb the population crisis

Oh Se-jung
The author is a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at Seoul National University and former president of SNU.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared “a national population crisis” and ordered “trend-reversing” measures to slow the depopulation path at the session of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy last month. Yoon underscored that the country’s viability is at risk despite continued endeavors to sustain the population. “We must fuel hope to our bleak future through all-out measures,” he said. New actions included the launch of an office-in-command on population policy under the deputy prime minister and a fiscal policy focus on work-family balance, childcare and housing to effectively lift the birthrate.

Given the severity of depopulation, we welcome the announcement. Korea is a country with the lowest fertility, which causes concerns for long-term sustainability. Past measures to address low birthrates and the fast aging of the population were mostly sketchy. Fortunately, the latest promises are more specific and realistic than before, as seen in the creation of a new government office orchestrating population policy and the expansion of parental leave and childcare support.

Still, few believe they are enough to push the birthrate above 0.7 and reverse the depopulation trend, as they lack structural solutions.

According a joint survey by the population committee and the Ministry of Culture last December, the primary causes for the ultra-low birthrate were economic burden and income disparities (40.0 percent) and the child care and education burden (26.9 percent). But measures to fight such problems are lacking. Of course, child care support is necessary, but measures to tackle the enormous private education expenses are missing. The latest action fails to address the fundamental competition issue. To ease the economic burden and wealth disparities, the government listed only housing and marriage support programs.

But Korea’s abysmal birth issue cannot be solved without tending to fundamental structural problems. Various problems related to fatigue from the overly-competitive environment, population concentration in the capital region, unreachable housing prices, wealth polarization and zealous reliance on private education to get to top universities increasingly upset the young and eat away their hopes for the future. They are the real reason behind Korea’s dismal birthrate.

Education reform is essential not just to prop up birthrate, but also to build adaptability to a society with a fewer population and a greater old-age dependency. The youth population is already thinning fast as the country’s fertility rate is lower than the replacement threshold since the 2000s. Since Korea is destined for a super-aged society with a shrinking working-age population, it must be well prepared for the future it is walking into. The latest population policy is wanting because its primary focus is on the birthrate with little preparation for a smaller socio-economic future.

To offset the decline in working-age population and the weakening national competitiveness from low births, the productivity of the working population should be enhanced through education. The current education system cannot help foster talents for creative thinking in the fourth industrial revolution.

Rote learning could have worked when we had been chasing other industrialized countries. But it cannot build minds to think differently to help steer the industrial structure towards trend-setting and frontrunner groups. Due to a deficiency in the retraining system, Korean workers won’t be able to easily adapt to new work environments and demands from increasing machinery replacement. A sweeping overhaul in the education system is a must to fight our depopulation challenges. Education reform cannot be left to the population office. The Ministry of Education should be involved in the effort.

As population policy is a pan-governmental mission, it demands all national resources. The call lies with the president. The presidential committee made the first step, but for any meaningful progress, fundamental and all-around structural reforms are necessary. The country’s fate depends on the sincerity and effectiveness of the endeavors.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.