edaily strategy forum

Day 1¤ÓBirth or disappearance, where is our future headed to?

• Keynote1 Session introduction

  As population dead cross has begun, we seek opportunities for rebound.

  Last year, the number of births in Korea was 240,000, while the number of deaths recorded 370,000. That is to say that we entered the ¡°population dead cross,¡± where the number of deaths exceeds the number of births in a year. Dead cross already started in 2020. It is not a special phenomenon caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but an irresistible trend. The world is paying attention to Korea¡¯s declining population. The question is, ¡°Why did Korea become a country that does not give birth to children¡± when considering the fact that Korea has become an advanced country with high education and per capita income of $32,000. Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at US Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) and German Marshal Fund, takes a serious look at Korea¡¯s declining population. He points out that Korea¡¯s patriarchal family society and Confucian beliefs, which still can be witnessed in the country, are the reasons for women¡¯s reluctance to give birth, and proposes to implement policies such as that of Europe¡¯s to include equal parental leave and provision of support for children living together. During this session, we will observe population related countermeasures of each country and find out the direction Korea should go based such countermeasures.
• Keynote Speech 2 Session introduction

  A decided future: What should Korea prepare for?

  (Cho Young-tae) The total fertility rate in Korea is 0.78. In anthropology, it has been considered that a total fertility rate of 0 cannot be achieved without experiencing pandemics, wars, and collapse of regimes throughout human history. However, Korea is showing that a total birthrate of 0 can be achieved without going through major historical changes. Nevertheless, people still appear to be indifferent to population. Key words like ¡°Low birth rate and aging¡± have been mentioned for decades, but we just let time pass by. Our future has already been foreseen. The 25-29-year-old population, which is the mainstay of economic activity, will decrease to half of the total population by 2030, hitting the economy hard. There is not much time left, but we still have a little time to prepare. Companies can prepare for changes in the number of households in the future, and it is necessary to think about the changes in the role of teachers in preparation for a decrease in the number of students and appointment of teachers. During this session, we will look at how the population will change in the future and strategies to respond, such as what demographics we need to look at to prepare for the future from a demographic perspective.
• Session 1 Introduction

  Today's school, tomorrow's education

  ¡°Thank you for loving Seoul Hwayang Elementary School.¡± Hwayang Elementary School, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, closed in February with its last good bye. Although it was located at the center of Seoul City, the school disappeared into history as it was directly hit by a decrease in school-age population. So far, 3,923 schools nationwide have been closed for similar reasons. With the number of children born reduced by a quarter compared to 1970, it is predicted that the rate of school closures will increase even faster. Experts are pointing out that even now, the education system should be overhauled to change the plummeting school age-population. Professor Kim Nuri of Chung Ang University, who is calling for ¡°abolition of competitive education,¡± emphasizes that a reform in education system that no longer forces children into competition will change the demographic cliff situation. The master of private education and CEO of Megastudy, Son Joo-eun also suggests a new alternative, saying that the era of success only through studying is now over. Na Seung-il, former Vice Minister of Education, will serve as the moderator and point out the direction of education reform.
• Session 2 Introduction

  Disappearing rural areas vanishing Korea

  Yeongyang, Gunwi, and Cheongsong in North Gyeongsang Province, Jangsu in North Jeolla Province, and Yanggu and Hwacheon in Gangwon Province all have something in common. That is, the population is less than 25,000. In particular, there are less than 600 people under the age of 10 in Gunwi and Yeongyang, making them areas with the highest risk of extinction. Such risk is expected to occur in most small and medium-sized cities within 30 years. As long as there is no work in the regions, young people have no choice but to flock to metropolitan areas. With no young people in the hometowns, children will also disappear. Hometowns will eventually lose vitality and left with nothing but their names and seniors. Kim Kwan-yong, North Jeolla Governor, who has high expectations as the youngest provincial governor, will reveal the possibility of change as a ¡°North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province¡± at the Strategy Forum, pointing out the situation in which 10 out of 14 cities and counties in danger of disappearing due to outflow of youth and aging population. Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe of ¡°Talmary,¡± who opened a natural circulation bakery in a small rural village in Japan that attracted tourists and revived the local economy, and Park Jun-kyu, CEO of Surfyy Beach, who transformed Yangyang, Gangwon Province, into the mecca of surfing, will discuss how they contributed to reviving the local economy. At the Strategy Forum, you will be able to find out their decisive strategy to revive the regions.
• Session 3 Introduction

  At the crossroads of change, what is the survival strategy of companies?

  The decrease in population will bring about major changes in the management of companies. It is expected that we will face various problems, including having no one to work due to shrinking working-age population, the aging of the average age of employees due to extension of the retirement age, and changes in marketing or sales strategies as a result of changes in the demographic structure. Furthermore, certain jobs may disappear due to lack of manpower, or artificial intelligence (AI) may replace them. Yi Insill, President of Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future, will moderate Session 3 and cover situations and problems that companies are facing, as well as what they should do to respond to decreasing population.
• Special lecture

  New National Defense in the time of Population Cliffs

  Military units in Korea, a ¡°divided country¡± and a ¡°country in armistice,¡± are dissolving. Four corps in the Army alone has been disbanded, including the 27th Infantry Division that people have heard of even if they haven¡¯t served the military and the 8th Corps, which was responsible for guarding the borders of the East Sea and Gangneung, have already been disbanded. This is due to a natural decline in military resources as a result of population decline, making it more challenging for the military to maintain the status quo. The government also feels a sense of crisis and is in search for various means to maintain the current military. The conversion to an all-volunteer system, in particular, is gaining attention. Amidst a decrease in population to the extent where it becomes impossible to recruit troops, people are turning towards the solution of recruiting troops with applicants to create elite troops. Of course, an increase in defense cost will be inevitable in this situation, but some predict that the economic effect from a reduction in military force will be substantial. In this session, Kim Jong-dae, a visiting professor at Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies (former member of the National Assembly) will take the podium as a speaker to discuss the sustainable future of the military. He will analyze the necessity of national defense reform focusing on the key word, ¡°volunteer military system,¡± and the impact changing demographic structure will have on our society.
• Generation Forum 1

  ¡°The Family,¡± family in crisis

  The era of introducing one¡¯s family by starting out with a cliche, ¡°I was raised by a stern father and a benevolent mother,¡± is now over. The demographic structure of our country is changing. Korea, where the era of low birthrate and aging population has arrived, is now witnessing various types of families. How is our changed society depicted in novels, movies, and dramas? Creators who dealt with ¡°family¡± of different generations gathered in one place. Director Yoon Je-kyoon, who portrayed the baby boomer generation in the movie ¡°Ode to My Father,¡± will be the MC and talk about the family of the past, present, and future. Actress Kim Ga-ran, who played the role of various family members in weekend and daily dramas, will participate to convey her honest thoughts on women at the ¡°optimal age for marriage and childbirth.¡± We will have an opportunity to listen to the story of the ¡°alternative family,¡± that appeared in the novel.