This Week in Korean Society

This week’s health and welfare news underscored persistent social risks alongside cautious policy shifts. A court ruling in a fatal dating violence case and new findings on school violence spilling into family life renewed concerns about gaps in prevention and support. Surveys also revealed a disconnect between public awareness and lived experience, particularly for pregnant women who report limited consideration in daily life. 

Social isolation remained a key issue, with solitary deaths increasing and “relationship poverty” spreading to middle-aged and older men facing unemployment and family breakdown. At the same time, foreign residents and North Korean defectors reported relatively high life satisfaction despite discrimination, pointing to complex dimensions of well-being. 

On the policy front, the government’s rollback of after-school care expansion sparked parental backlash, while Seoul’s “Stepping Stone Income” drew attention as a possible alternative to traditional welfare by improving work incentives and earnings. Demographic data showed births rising for a 16th month, though more slowly, and population mobility falling to a long-term low, reflecting ongoing structural challenges.

Dec. 21

• ●Whe romance turns into abuse: Struggles and limitations to curb dating violence The Korea Herald
  A South Korean court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's conviction of a 33-year-old man in Jeonju who assaulted his girlfriend so severely that she fled onto a window ledge and fell to her death.
  
  

• ●Record influx of medical tourists delivers $2.47 bil. economic windfall for Korea The Korea Times
  For Natsagdorj Namuun, a 30-year-old freelance model from Mongolia, the imagined Korea of her youth was a neon-hued daydream of K-pop, defined by the synchronized glitz of Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation.

Dec. 22

• ●Solitary deaths increased 7% last year The Korea Herald
  South Korea recorded nearly 4,000 solitary deaths in 2024, a 7.2 percent increase from 3,661 in 2023, amounting to 1.09 deaths per 100 overall deaths.
  
  

• ●Lee Government Reverses Neulbom School Expansion, Sparking Parent Backlash The Chosun Daily
  A Seoul-based office worker in her 40s, Yoo Mo, who is raising a child entering third grade next year, recently scrambled to find an academy to entrust her child with after receiving a school notice.
  
  

• ●New labor council chairman vows broader representation for youth, women, freelancers The Korea Times
  The new chairman of the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council pledged on Monday to overhaul a system he says has failed to sufficiently reflect the voices of youth, women and freelancers in national debates over work and welfare.

Dec. 23

• ●Cheap child care? Korea's Filipina caregiver program found it wasn't The Korea Herald
  Seoul's attempt to address the country's low birth rate through an influx of foreign caregivers is set to wind down, as the Korean government said Monday it would not issue any additional visas tied to the city's domestic worker program.
  
  

• ●Most believe they are considerate towards pregnant women. This survey says otherwise The Korea Herald
  Nearly half of pregnant women said no one showed special consideration for their physical condition, a survey indicated Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Koreans are generally satisfied with life, but believe others are happier, McDonald's-Gallup survey finds Korea JoongAng Daily
  Koreans are generally satisfied with their lives but believe that "others are happier" than they are, while many pointed to family and small, shared moments-such as eating together- as their main sources of joy, according to a new survey conducted by McDonald's Korea and Gallup Korea released on Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Pink subway seat blues? Pregnant women not receiving consideration in public, survey indicates Korea JoongAng Daily
  Nearly half of pregnant women in Korea say they have received absolutely no extra consideration because of their pregnancy, with street smoking cited as the most common nuisance.
  
  

• ●44% of foreign residents in Korea report discrimination, yet remain happier than locals: survey The Korea Times
  More than four out of 10 foreign residents in Korea say they have experienced discrimination, most commonly based on their country of origin, yet nearly eight in 10 of them did not raise complaints, largely because they believed doing so would not lead to change, a new survey found.
  
  

• ●Seoul City's new income model offers 'Stepping Stone' out of poverty The Korea Times
  Seoul's Stepping Stone Income program is being promoted as a more effective alternative to Korea's primary social safety net, the Basic Livelihood scheme, with new evidence suggestig that it helps low-income households move off public benefits while improving living standards, work incentives and community participation.
  
  

• ●Record 81% of N. Korean defectors say they are 'satisfied' with life in South: survey The Korea Times
  A record 81 percent of North Korean defectors living in South Korea said they are "satisfied" with their lives in the South, amid an improvement in their overall economic situation, a survey showed Tuesday.

Dec. 24

• ●Population mobility hits 51-yr low in November: data The Korea Times
  The number of Koreans relocating to new homes fell to the lowest level in 51 years for any November amid sluggish housing transactions and demographic changes, data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Korea's childbirths rise for 16th consecutive month in October: data The Korea Times
  The number of babies born increased for the past 16 consecutive months as of October, but the pace of growth slowed to the lowest since the start of this year, government data showed Wednesday.

Dec. 25

• ●'Relationship poverty' on the rise in Korea as loneliness strikes even those who seemingly have it together Korea JoongAng Daily
  Even as economic hardship eases, a growing number of Koreans are sliding into "relationship poverty" - living stable lives materially yet increasingly isolated, lonely and disconnected in an always-online society.
  
  

• ●Adolescents who experience violence in school bring violence home to family, study finds Korea JoongAng Daily
  Three out of 10 adolescents who experienced school violence have committed violence against their parents, raising calls for support measures that focus on families rather than only individual students because violence experienced at school can spill over into the home.
  
  

• ●Being paid to stay: Inside Korea's rural basic income trial The Korea Herald
  In rural counties in central South Korea, residents are being paid simply for living there.

Dec. 26

• ●Older men fall into isolation as employment ends, families fracture Korea JoongAng Daily
  A growing number of middle-aged and older Korean men are falling into "relationship poverty," as unemployment, retirement and family discord sever social ties and push them into isolation that existing welfare systems struggle to reach.
  
  

• ●Yeongdeungpo-gu's Respite System Eases Burden on Elderly Caregivers The Chosun Daily
  Kim, 87, who lives in Yangpyeong 1-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, recently went for a walk in front of his house after a long time.
  
  

• ●Seoul's Stepping Stone Income Lifts Earnings for One in Three Households The Chosun Daily
  One in three households that received Seoul's targeted support for low-income households, the 'Stepping Stone Income,' saw an increase in earned income compared to before receiving the support.
  
  

• ●Changwon's Youth Flee Despite Strong Manufacturing Sector The Chosun Daily
  On the 17th, inChangdong, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, a street once bustling with young people in the early 2000s, and dubbed the "Street of Youth" now has a "For Rent" sign on every fourth storefront.
  
  

• ●Pension Back Payment Applications Surge Ahead of Rate Hike The Chosun Daily
  Mr. A, in his 60s, applied for a so-called "back payment" with the National Pension Service on the 18th of last month, intending to pay overdue insurance premiums for 37 months.
  
  

• ●Older men fall into isolation as employment ends, families fracture Korea JoongAng Daily
  A growing number of middle-aged and older Korean men are falling into "relationship poverty," as unemployment, retirement and family discord sever social ties and push them into isolatin that existing welfare systems struggle to reach.
  
  

• ●Nearly 4 in 10 older adults in Korea live below poverty line: Report The Korea Times
  Nearly 4 in 10 Koreans aged 66 and older are living below the relatively poverty line, highlighting deepending economic insecurity for many in the country's aging population, a government report showed Friday.