by Wonsuh Song
Recently, I traveled to Korea with my sixth-grade son. Having grown up in Japan, he made a comment that caught me completely off guard: “Korea seems like Japan’s future.” Coming from my generation, I had never heard anything like that before. It was a statement so unexpected that I couldn’t help but feel stunned.
When I asked why he felt this way, his answer was simple. During our time in Korea, we saw very few children on the streets. Korea’s birthrate, after all, is far lower than Japan’s. My son came to think that Korea is further along in an aging process that Japan is currently experiencing. He was aware that the Korean government has invested in measures to tackle low birthrates, yet there were almost no children to be seen. It made him feel as though he was looking at a glimpse of Japan’s own future.
Another observation that intrigued him was the way traffic signals were managed. Many people in Korea, like in Japan, walk while looking at their smartphones, so even when the light changes, some pedestrians don’t notice right away. To address this, some crosswalks have signals embedded in the ground, enabling people to check the signal with their eyes pointed downward. My son was impressed, saying, “It would be great if Japan introduced safety measures like that.” This kind of rapid, practical change gave him the strong impression that Korea is more like a futuristic city.
Thinking back, just a few decades ago, Korea was known for actively embracing Japanese culture. Over time, however, Korea’s pace of societal change seems to have surpassed Japan’s in various ways, suggesting that Korea may now be the one leading the way. With intense competition, an emphasis on academic credentials, skyrocketing housing prices, and expensive private education, it’s perhaps no surprise that Korea’s birthrate is so low.
That’s why my sixth-grader’s remark—“Korea is Japan’s future”—felt so impactful. Japan was once the model for Korea to follow, but now it’s possible that Japan could learn from Korea’s current situation. In areas like technology, culture, and social systems, Korea’s rapid transformation could provide clues for the challenges Japan is poised to face and how to address them.
Though the speed of change differs from country to country, the overall direction can be quite similar. When a society that’s moving faster encounters problems, it often devises solutions first, offering lessons that others can adopt. The startling words from my young son serve as a timely reminder to reflect once again on what lies ahead for all of us.
Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)
Full-time Lecturer, Faculty of School Teacher Education, Shumei University
Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Waseda University
Visiting Researcher, Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo
댓글 남기기