INTERVIEW 'Korea's demographic crisis rooted in changing family values': Global Peace Foundation head
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, speaks to reporters during an interview at a hotel in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
Korea will not reverse its demographic decline simply by spending more on policy measures, according to Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation. The deeper problem, he argues, is a transformation in how Koreans view marriage, parenthood and their obligations to one another.
"The family unit is the primary and the most important cultural expression of Korea," Moon said in a recent interview with The Korea Times in Seoul. "The very civilization itself is now under threat because Korea had abandoned the institution that was most important to this nation."
For Moon, framing the fertility crisis primarily as an economic problem misses what he sees as a more fundamental shift in values. He believes the answer lies in reviving elements of Korea's traditional family culture.
The traditional Korean extended family has been characterized by strong intergenerational ties, norms of filial responsibility, respect for older family members and a high degree of mutual support across generations. Moon argues that the weakening of these structures has contributed to problems such as high divorce rates, low birthrates and growing generational divides.
"Previous generations had good families and many children, and the economic circumstance was worse than it is today," he said. "It is a complete change in terms of values and in terms of orientation that led to these problems."
That argument puts Moon at odds with much of the policy debate in Korea. Successive governments have spent heavily on measures ranging from child care subsidies to housing support and parental leave in an effort to raise one of the world's lowest fertility rates and address the challenges of a rapidly aging population.
Moon believes multigenerational families can provide not only emotional support but also a practical response to some of the pressures created by Korea's demographic crisis.
"If government can incentivize an extended family model through policies such as tax breaks, where the family takes care of their elderly, then not only will they get better care, but they will be able to be part of that family clan," he said.
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, speaks to reporters during an interview at a hotel in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
For Moon, the subject is also deeply personal.
He moved to the United States at the age 4 but said his family remained the foundation of his Korean identity. Respect for elders, hierarchical relationships within the family and the use of honorific language were traditions he carried into his own household.
"My pride and my identity was rooted in my Korean family," he said.
Moon recalled speaking to his parents in "jondaetmal," or honorific Korean, and said he has encouraged his children and grandchildren to maintain similar practices. He worries that those customs are gradually disappearing.
Moon pointed to younger generations speaking more casually to parents and grandparents as one example of what he views as a broader weakening of respect and responsibility within families. He also criticized what he described as overly protective parenting, arguing that traditional Korean households placed greater emphasis on discipline, manners and resilience.
Moon argues that economic modernization was too often accompanied by the assumption that Western forms of individualism also represented social progress.
"Korea falsely adopted a lot of the new ideas from the West, thinking that was part of the journey," Moon said. "We have a 5,000-year-old civilization. Why would we give that up and follow the experiments of a nation that's only this year turned 250 years old?"
That idea is closely connected to his broader "Korean Dream" philosophy, which emphasizes "Hongik Ingan," the traditional ideal of living for the benefit of humanity. Moon sees the family as the institution through which those values are transmitted from one generation to the next.
"This is where younger people really need to ask questions. Eventually, there will be a time when you are as old as I am," Moon said. "Ask yourself: What do you leave behind? What is your legacy? What is your contribution in the history of our civilization?"