With a heap of negative factors looming at home and abroad, the Korean economy is entering a low-growth era. Low growth is an unfamiliar term to Koreans who have continued to develop the economy since it first emerged from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War. The question arises, how will this resource poor country survive the dismal prospects of the future?

The International Monetary Fund said in its recent report that Korea’s economic growth will fall short of the global average in the years to come. In 2016, the Korean economy is forecast to expand by 3.97 percent, lower than the 4.02 percent growth in 2015. In contrast, the global economy is predicted to grow 4.62 percent in 2016, higher than the 4.55 percent a year earlier. This trend will continue in 2017, when Korea’s economic growth will decline even further to 3.96 percent against the global average of 4.66 percent.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the economic club of rich countries, has projected that Korea’s potential growth rate will dip to 1.05 percent in 2050, the lowest level among the 34 OECD member countries. A week ago, Korea joined the so-called ``20-50 club,’’ an unofficial term referring to a group of countries that achieved per capita income of over $20,000 and a population of more than 50 million, but few were excited by the news.

On the external front, the eurozone debt crisis may take its full-blown toll on the already-sagging Korean economy at any time and economic woes loom large in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as well as in the United States.

Domestically, household debt has surpassed 900 trillion won and signs of asset deflation are felt more keenly than ever before, casting a dark cloud over the prospect of an early recovery.

Behind the long-term gloom are low birthrates and a rapidly aging population. The national statistics office says the country’s population will begin falling in 2030 but the working-age population, which usually refers to people aged 15-64, will go into decline much earlier, in 2017. In the long term, bold measures will be needed to encourage couples to have more babies; in the short term, making the best use of females and the elderly in the workforce should be prioritized.

Solutions are limited but the country should look for a way out. First of all, politicians must refrain from making unrealistic sugar-coated pledges in the run-up to the presidential election in December on the assumption that growth and welfare go hand in hand. Free trade agreements with foreign countries will have to be utilized as an occasion for small- and medium-sized companies to boost exports. Service industries such as healthcare and tourism need more investment to help stimulate greater domestic demand.