Aging in South Korea: the first penguin of the fastest aging nations.
South Korea is experiencing the world's most rapid demographic transition, having officially become a super-aged society in December 2024, with individuals aged 65 and older exceeding 20% of the total population. This shift—driven by record-low fertility rates and increasing life expectancy—presents...
| Published in: | Gerontologist Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. 1 - 12 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jul2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195281404&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195281404 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00169013 GET jtl: Gerontologist issn: 00169013 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 66 iid: 7 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195281404 10.1093/geront/gnag061 ppf: 1 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Aging in South Korea: the first penguin of the fastest aging nations. aug: au: Park, Jeongmin Chin, Meejung Kim, Kyungmin Lee, Soomi Santos-Lozada, Alexis R affil: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United StatesCenter for Healthy Aging, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaIntegrated Major in Regional Studies and Spatial Analytics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea Center for Healthy Aging, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United StatesDepartment of Child and Family Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea su: South Korea Social security Health services accessibility Policy sciences Employment of older people Health policy Population geography Aging Quality of life Pensions Poverty Employee retention Psychological vulnerability sug: subj: Social security Health services accessibility Policy sciences Employment of older people Health policy Population geography Aging Quality of life Pensions Poverty South Korea Administration of Public Health Programs Trusteed pension funds Employee retention Psychological vulnerability keyword: aged aging copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 demography employment https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag061 inLanguage:en korea pensions Policy Population aging poverty publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42080472/ social security aged aging copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 demography employment https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag061 inLanguage:en korea pensions Policy Population aging poverty publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42080472/ social security ab: South Korea is experiencing the world's most rapid demographic transition, having officially become a super-aged society in December 2024, with individuals aged 65 and older exceeding 20% of the total population. This shift—driven by record-low fertility rates and increasing life expectancy—presents unprecedented socioeconomic and policy challenges. This spotlight provides a critical overview of Korea's demographic shift and reviews 5 key issues related to population aging: (a) pensions and social insurance, (b) healthcare and caregiving, (c) employment and retention of older workers, (d) poverty and quality of life, and (e) social vulnerabilities and regional disparities. Future efforts should frame population aging as a sustained governing agenda anchored in prevention, shock resilience, and evidence-to-policy collaboration. Key priorities include strengthening pension sustainability and adequacy, scaling equitable long-term care and dementia-related supports, improving the quality and opportunities of late-life employment, and mitigating social isolation, ageism, and regional service gaps. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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