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 exceed births in Busan for first time in decades
Elementary schools in the port city of Busan have already started to suffer from a shortage of new students. gettyimagesbank
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
The number of deaths in Busan last year exceeded births for the first time in decades.
According to Statistics Korea's data released on Sunday, 22,600 people died in the country's second-largest city while 19,100 were born.
Only 20 years ago, there were three times more births than deaths.
A shortage of students because of the falling birth rate is already affecting schools.
Kamjung Elementary School, which was founded in southern Busan in 1980, closed early this month after holding its last graduation ceremony on Feb. 20. Another elementary school in western Busan, Deokdo, shut down the same month.
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 this year, for the first time, will likely fall below the number of students in Incheon, Korea's third-largest city.