Korea was a country where 1 million newborns were born every year. However, in 2002, the number of births was halved to 490,000. In just one generation, it was reduced to half that of the parents' generation. Now, it is cut in half again, and the number of births in 2022 is 240,000. Exactly every generation that passes, the population of the parents' generation is decreasing by half. Korea's rapid population decline, which is surprising to the world, is creating a new Republic of Korea that has never been experienced before.
Military units are disappearing. According to the Defense Reform released by the Ministry of National Defense in 2018, the standing force of 600,000 will be gradually reduced to 500,000 by 2022. This is because there are no soldiers to fill the unit. Accordingly, the Army's 27th Division stationed in Gangwon-do was disbanded. The disbandment of the division led to the disappearance of the community in the area where the unit was located. Local commercial districts are collapsing regardless of industry, and the number of school students, most of whom are children of military personnel, is plummeting. As the number of students plummets, the quality of education deteriorates, and the vicious cycle of people moving to new departments continues.
The decrease in students does not only occur in Gangwon-do. Closed schools also appeared in downtown Seoul. Dobong High School in Seoul will close in February. This is the first time for a general high school. The closure of elementary and middle schools in Seoul has already begun, and now even general high schools in Seoul are closing. The playground has been converted into a parking lot, and the school building will be remodeled and used as a government office. Although the number of kindergartens is decreasing, the number of senior day care centers, known as ‘senior kindergartens’, is steadily increasing.
Churches are also decreasing. The Protestant Church feels the crisis caused by population decline and is responding. According to the ‘2023 Status of Korean Religion’ report released by the Ministry Data Research Institute on January 16, it is predicted that Protestants in Korea will account for only 12% of the total population in 10 years. The cause is population decline and leaving the church. Some pastors within the Protestant church even argued for preparing to become a religious minority.
Foreigners are taking up the positions vacated due to population decline. Local universities, where mass admission shortages occur, are filling their ranks with foreign students to maintain their universities. The national flags of many nations fly over the campus, and the wine shops in front of the schools, which used to sell makgeolli, are now ‘little Itaewons’ for international students. It has become a daily occurrence to meet international students serving people at restaurants with poor Korean. Is it just local universities? Industries that require hard labor, whether agriculture, manufacturing, construction, or service, are now paralyzed without foreign workers.
What is happening in society is happening in the Catholic Church. Foreign workers were the biggest help in restoring a parish church in Pohang, which was damaged by floods from a typhoon last year. On a day when a Mass for Filipinos is offered, the front of Hyehwa-dong church in Seoul is crowded with Filipinos. Parishes in areas with a high rate of foreign residents, such as Dongducheon Parish in Uijeongbu Diocese, prepare and offer separate Masses for immigrants. Moreover, 100 Filipino domestic helpers (housekeeping managers) will come to Korea as part of the ‘Foreign Domestic (Childcare) Workforce’ pilot project being prepared by the Seoul Metropolitan Government this year. The number of foreigners among us is expected to increase.
Because of the population decline the Church needs to accommodate to the new reality. In particular, pastoral care for the increasing number of immigrants is urgent. Rather than viewing immigrants as people who need help, we must recognize them as partners. Moreover, preparing pastoral alternatives for immigrants must begin with listening to their voices. If we listen to their voices and take a sensitive and warm approach to immigrants individually, we may encounter a synod church that ‘walks together’.
