The South Korean government wants shut-in kids to leave the house and go outside. The country’s ministry of gender equality and family said the cabinet passed a measure Tuesday to provide potentially thousands of dollars a year in education, job counseling and health support to those between the ages of 9 and 24 living as recluses.
The programme, which expands a November announcement, is targeted at so-called “hikikomori” — a term coined in Japan to describe severe social withdrawal, likely worsened by the pandemic. Qualifying South Korean youth get funds through several categories, including 650,000 won ($490) per month for general living costs. Government is “strengthening its support to enable reclusive youth to recover their daily lives and reintegrate into society,” the ministrysaid. The policy’s main goal is to help disadvantaged youth, but it’s also a way for the country to address its shrinking workingage population amid alarmingly low birthrates and tight immigrationpolicies. South Korea is set to become one of the world’s most aged countries or territories by 2044, outpaced only by Hong Kong for the largest share of people over the age of 65, according to Statistics Korea. That’s prompted emergency moves from the government, including childcare support to boost the globe’s lowest fertility rate. The country has spent more than $200 billion so far to increase its population. The measure was introduced weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared the birthrate and the subsequent decline in productivity a “crucial national agenda,” urging officials to adopt an “emergency mindset” to the issue.
The programme, which expands a November announcement, is targeted at so-called “hikikomori” — a term coined in Japan to describe severe social withdrawal, likely worsened by the pandemic. Qualifying South Korean youth get funds through several categories, including 650,000 won ($490) per month for general living costs. Government is “strengthening its support to enable reclusive youth to recover their daily lives and reintegrate into society,” the ministrysaid. The policy’s main goal is to help disadvantaged youth, but it’s also a way for the country to address its shrinking workingage population amid alarmingly low birthrates and tight immigrationpolicies. South Korea is set to become one of the world’s most aged countries or territories by 2044, outpaced only by Hong Kong for the largest share of people over the age of 65, according to Statistics Korea. That’s prompted emergency moves from the government, including childcare support to boost the globe’s lowest fertility rate. The country has spent more than $200 billion so far to increase its population. The measure was introduced weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared the birthrate and the subsequent decline in productivity a “crucial national agenda,” urging officials to adopt an “emergency mindset” to the issue.