Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Deaths to exceed births in Busan for first time
Schools in Busan (pictured) have already started to suffer from a lack of students. Korea Times file
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
The number of deaths this year will exceed that of births in Busan for the first time in decades.
According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who died in the country's second-largest city is estimated to surpass that of those who were born there by nearly 2,000.
The reversal had been predicted last year, when the number of births was 21,500, slightly higher than the number of deaths.
When the number of births was nearly three times bigger only 20 years ago, such a dramatic change was unimaginable.
Schools in Busan have already started to suffer from a lack of students.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, four schools have closed this year and 25 others will face the same fate by 2022 as they struggle to fill classrooms.
Data from the Korean Education Development Institute show that the number of students at elementary, middle and high schools in Busan has declined in recent years and, for the first time next year, will fall below the number of students in Incheon, Korea's third-largest city.
The number of students in Busan this year is 320,463, a little higher than 320,352 in Incheon.
Even though the student populations are declining in both cities, the pace is faster in Busan. In 2014, Busan had 375,462 students, compared with Incheon's 354,742.
Experts say most big cities in Korea will face declining populations in coming years.