The desire to become younger is one of humanity's long-standing hopes. The first emperor of China is said to have sent his confidants across the sea to the east of China to obtain the ‘herb of immortality’. In Taoism, 'eternal youth and longevity' can be achieved through practices of seclusion and training, and they revere Taoist hermits who have lived long lives."
In Korea, treatments for ‘young-looking skin’ are common. Not only women but also men are busy taking care of their skin to look young; removing wrinkles is basic, and injections and creating skin elasticity and shine follow. Hiding one's age with hair dye and tattoos is common, and treatment for geriatric hair loss is also widespread. It has become common sense to overcome male baldness due to aging with medication or treatment.
This social atmosphere began with a commercialization trend that being young was not only good but could be created. And the healthcare industry quickly joined. Korea is a mecca for cosmetics and beauty. Seoul is flooded with customers from all over the world who come for cosmetic surgery, and major plastic surgery chains are expanding overseas and showing off their power. The Korean cosmetics industry is receiving global attention and developing in line with the anti-aging trend.
The public's desire to look younger and have better skin is not the fundamental problem. The reason Korea has become a paradise for plastic surgery and skincare is because of the culture—make a good appearance— ‘lookism’. The real problem is that this social atmosphere encourages hatred toward aging. Even though we are all aging, many do not see it as a natural process.
Getting older is not all negative. Experience is accumulated, various skills are achieved, and this can be passed on to the next generation. In addition, unlike when you were young when your reproductive function was active and your physical strength was good, age allows you to take a leisurely look at the world, life, and society. Aging, sadly can be a time of cunning and shamelessness.
However, unlike the agricultural society of the past, the role of ‘elders’ is no longer important. Such skill and wisdom have already been replaced by data and artificial intelligence, and sustainability and community-based expertise are seen as obstacles to industrialization to increase profits. Also, when they are young, they are respected by companies and society as a productive population due to their high productivity, but when they get older and retire, they are regarded as a burden. As a result, hatred of elderly people spreads.
Although there is some blatant hatred such as ‘no entry for the elderly’, major politicians in Korea have now taken advantage of ‘free riding for the elderly’ on public transportation as a source of generational conflict. If we reduce welfare benefits for the elderly, we will also hurt ourselves as we all become older.
The reason why it is so easy to distinguish between the elderly and the young and treat the elderly as if they are members of a different society is the logic of economics. The underlying view is that the elderly are merely a consumer population, not a productive population. However, as mentioned before, everyone becomes an old person. However, do the wealthy who are encouraging these generational conflicts and young people's distrust of social insurance such as national pensions and health insurance want to be excluded from the elderly receiving benefits?
The distrust of the older generation and hatred of the elderly are not only based on disregard for aging. The surprising thing about capitalism is that even amid such hatred and generational conflict, it creates a way to make money on the elderly.
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