Add a little color to white-clad folk's apparel

Jung Ho-joon

By Jung Ho-joon

A country's sobriquet is usually more telling than its official title. Koreans have historically been called the "white-clad folk."

While the name is a nod towards our people's age-old preference for white garments, it also tells the tale of Korean solidarity. Though this collective identity of unity has served the Korean people well during dire times, it has also functioned as a source of exclusivity. Koreans have harnessed a subtle or even shy cliquishness against foreigners.

However, as our society today hangs on a demographic cliff, leading towards devastating labor shortages and further economic catastrophes, adding a little color to our apparel may offer a timely fit to our needs.

Modern economies run on demand created by population. Demand for goods and services instigates profit-seeking entities to seize opportunities for supplying. This creates wealth that subsequently generates more demand, and the expansion of this cycle is what we call "sustainable economic growth."

Since an economy's demand primarily depends on how many mouths there are to feed, a drop in population directly hinders demand and ultimately, economic growth.

As of this year, Korea ranked 198th out of 198 countries in childbirth rate with 0.9 babies per mother, drawing an ever-downward sloping curve since the mid-1900s. The population officially entered its natural declining stage, and statistics postulate that at the current dwindling growth (or rather, shrinking) rate, in 15 years, the supporter-dependent ratio in Korea will drop to 2 to 1.

Apart from the demand shock and inevitable recessions that ensue, there exist a myriad of issues that go mostly unnoticed until they unfold right before our eyes. Just to name a few, teachers lose jobs, universities shut down as new students become a scarce commodity, and the medical system takes its toll due to the dramatic fall in blood transfusion supplies. A collapsing population affects all facets of society, not just the economy.

In the face of depopulation, governments usually resort to government spending tools, such as childbirth encouragement packages, to re-stimulate the economy. However, because more government spending entails more taxes, this essentially equates to solving today's problems at the expense of our future generations' fiscal capacity.

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An aging society makes this problem much worse, because there are fewer young workers to pay taxes and support the elderly who require more resources than they can produce. Thus, in the long-run, solving population problems with monetary solutions only deteriorates the situation.

Population problems can only be solved with population solutions. Particularly in Korea, where childbirth encouragement utterly failed despite its $100 billion budget over the past decade, immigration seems to be the only viable option.

The benefits of immigration are irrefutable. Flexible labor markets from high labor mobility build a win-win situation for developed and developing countries or producers and consumers alike. Workers from developing countries earn more money by taking jobs abroad with higher wages, while developed countries enjoy the inflow of foreign workers at lower international prices. This drives down the overall price of goods and services, which in turn, benefits consumers.

Immigrants also introduce cultural diversity, whose effects may not be digitalized, but clearly contributes to a healthy, vibrant society.

However, despite these crucial benefits, mass immigration remains far from reality. In 2018, the admittance of 500 Yemeni refugees into the country aroused mass furor and controversy in Korea. Groundless accusations against the refugees, such as "thieves" and "rapists," were thrown around with ease. The fountainhead of Korea's anti-immigrant sentiment is the "fear of losing" ― fear of losing safety, jobs, or a certain way of life.

Granted, a mass influx of foreigners will inevitably bring about changes in the community. However, such effects can be contained and controlled through efficient screening and prevention of "asymmetrical information." If procured, it can reduce risk, unwarranted fear, and social anxiety, which have traditionally functioned as critical barriers to the admission process.

We need to harness more innovative procedures that can effectively filter potential criminals while incentivizing a more transparent disclosure of information. Once trust towards immigrants is established, it will be much easier to understand that the majority of these newcomers not only possess many skillsets that the economy needs, but also generates the demand that will stimulate the economy and eventually create more jobs than they occupied. When we bake a bigger pie, sharing a piece suddenly does not seem that impossible.

Defying the trend of globalization and international labor mobility likens to swimming a river upstream. Significant indicators of national population, such as childbirth rate or military manpower, are reaching their critical strain points. It is getting clearer by year that we must rejuvenate our working population.

Fortunately, the government is already taking action. As of Aug. 27, in response to shifting population structures, the Korean government has released blueprints to ease the requirements for granting nationality to foreigners.

Times of hardship call for unity, but also for bold and innovative measures. To a nation long marked by a history of immigration from our Northern neighbor, the changes witnessed today may be a timely signal that immigration unlocks the answer to our future.

Jung Ho-joon is a student at Sogang University.