South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society | Hacker News Reader

South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society

japantimes.co.jp

33 pointsPaulHoule10 comments

It doesn't matter if one saved a lot for their pension fund, if there's not enough able people around to do all the essential work when the time comes. Numbers in an account don't go fighting a wildfire by themselves. We risk ending in a world of old people outbidding each other into utter destitution for basic services.

Relevant video from Kurzgesagt about South Korean birth rate and the repercussions, 3–4 generations down the line:

https://youtu.be/Ufmu1WD2TSk

A glimpse of the future of most developed economies.

Yes, but Korea is genuinely unique in how quickly it's happening. The birth rate in Korea is currently at 0.75, which is the lowest in the world. Italy, the second lowest, still remains above 1, and this large gap tells a lot about the current situation in SK. The country is facing challenges in all fronts - politics, society, and economy.

They could open up immigration. But like many governments, they’ll put their heads in sand and play victim.

that just shifts the problems

This is why I am actually happy that there are still immigrants coming to the Netherlands. Yeah some of those Syrians and Ukrainians will be bad but the majority will integrate and pay taxes. Without immigration the country would already be Japan.

I assume your in the Netherlands? Hoi! How is the tech industry there, does it pay decently, and how difficult is it for someone overseas to apply?

The problem is that immigration is a temporary solution for that.

The real advantage of immigration is targeted immigration to "artificially" boost your economy like if there's an emerging new field, you can get ahead by creating a visa program to attract as many of those workers as possible.

Why keep this fantasy? We have the data, and it doesn't match your statement.

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