You're seeing similar things in many different countries. The ruling class doesn't quite understand it. If people can barely support themselves, then the logical thing to do is to not have children. You can incentivize child birth all you want with economic carrots but the fundamental problem remains. Japan has a similar problem that South Korea does, the US is starting to see a similar problem with a birth rate of 1.6-1.7. Not having children is just the logical choice.
I wonder why immigration was not mentioned as a measure to alleviate the issue.
I feel this deeply. The conflicts driven by generation, gender, political views, and income levels seem to be getting more and more intense
Watched it a few days ago, and this comment kept ringing in my head for a while:
South Korean here, We are all aware of the problem, and the government is virtually doing nothing. Wish us good luck!
(Edit)
I see many people saying don't depend on government. As a father and a husband myself, of course I'm concerned for the future which my son will have to live... But those numbers are not without structural problems. People don't just give up having children, they are forced to. In this kind of situation, the government definitely has a role to play. One of the problems would be overwhelming meritocracy just as M.Sendel said, accustomed with high inequailty, politically/genderly polarized society, etc. Please do not try to judge phenomenon without knowing its causes. :)
I'm horrified to even ask, but does war typically act as a correcting factor?
Genuinely asking - what if every person was held accountable to save for their own retirement, instead of relying on the taxpayer? Would a shrinkage still cause economic collapse?
Seems like the core issue is that we have a system in place that only works when young >> old