In Busan, South Korea, individuals over the age of 50 are approaching half of the city’s total population. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
BUSAN, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – In Busan, South Korea, individuals over the age of 50 are approaching half of the city’s total population. According to statistics released by Busan Metropolitan City on January 10, as of 2022, this age group comprised 1.53 million people, or 46.5% of the city’s population.
The breakdown of this demographic shows that 830,000 people (25.2%) were between the ages of 50 and 64, the so-called ‘new middle-aged,’ while those over 65 accounted for 702,000 individuals (21.3%). According to Statistics Korea’s future population projections, while the total population is expected to continue declining, the elderly population is set to rise steadily, surpassing 1 million by 2035.
In terms of household composition, 25.9% of households whose inhabitants were between 50 and 65 were single-person, a figure that increased to 38.1% among elderly households.
In 2022, cancer ranked as the leading cause of death among those over 50, followed by circulatory system diseases. The number of cancer fatalities per 100,000 amounted to 162.5 among those between 50 and 65 and 730.4 among elderly individuals.
In recent years, an increasing percentage of citizens over the age of 50 have reported experiencing depression impacting their daily life for two weeks or more. This percentage was found to be 8.3% among individuals between the ages of 50 and 65 and 11.4% among the elderly.
Both groups cited ‘appropriate diet and nutrition’ as the top necessity for health promotion. Economically, the elderly were more vulnerable, with 38.4% living in households earning less than 1 million KRW per month, compared to just 6.5% of those between the ages of 50 and 65.
Regarding retirement preparation, 74% of individuals between the ages of 50 and 65 said they preferred the national pension system. Living arrangements revealed that 58% resided in apartments, while 25.9% lived in detached houses. The majority, 69.3%, owned their homes, with 17.5% living in rented apartments with deposits and 8.7% in jeonse (long-term lease).
For leisure, 80.6% of individuals over the age of 50 said they spent their time watching TV, while 63% opted for rest. Overall life satisfaction among this group averaged 5.9 out of 10.
The statistics, covering population, household, health, income security, interpersonal relations, living environment, and social environment, were gathered from February to December of last year, targeting residents of Busan over the age of 50.
Developed in October 2021 as Busan entered a super-aged society, the statistics are intended to provide foundational data for policy development in creating an age-friendly city.
Busan Mayor Park Heong-jun emphasized, “With these statistics, we plan to develop and implement policies that resonate across generations, such as job creation, retirement preparation support, health, and education programs for our senior youth. We aim to transform Busan into a vibrant, happy, age-friendly city, turning the challenges of a super-aged society into opportunities.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
