Abstract
Despite national policy efforts to increase fertility rates, the Republic of Korea is quickly becoming an aged society. Moreover, these demographic trends are accompanied by socio-cultural changes that are lowering the social status of older adults in South Korean society. The high suicide rate among the elderly population can be an indicator that the needs of elderly are not being adequately met. The low levels of education in the elderly population signal the potential for policy intervention since low education levels can be significant barriers to economic opportunities and social integration. The Republic of Korea has several legal frameworks, such as the Senior Citizens Employment Promotion Law (1991), the Senior Citizens Welfare Law (1997) and the Lifelong Education Law (1999) that created one of the most vibrant and plentiful lifelong education community. However, the following issues need to be addressed in order to make these programmes more effective: the lack of a coherent institutional and legal framework, weak and unstable financial support, lack of professionalism in personnel, failure to match the needs of senior citizens, and the disconnection between lifelong education programmes and practical use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Association of Social Welfare Center (KASWC). (2014). Nationwide Social Welfare Center Total Number. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://www.kaswc.or.kr/
Kee, Y. (2007). The practice of older adult education in Korea. Seoul: Hakgisa.
Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs. (2005). Senior survey.
Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs. (2011). Senior survey.
Korea Statistics (KOSTAT). (2014). 2013 Statistics for causes of death. . Retrieved September 28, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://kostat.go.kr
Ministry of Education (MOE). (2014). The Lifelong Education Law. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://moe.go.kr/
Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) (2014). The Senior Citizen Welfare Law. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://mohw.go.kr/
Ministry of Labor (MOLAB). (2014). The Senior Citizen Employment Promotion Law. Retrieved March 14, 2014, form the World Wide Web: http://molab.go.kr/
National Statistical Office (NSO). (2012). Future population forecast. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://www.nso.go.kr
OECD. (2011). Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2011-en
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kee, Y., Kim, Y. (2016). Republic of Korea. In: Findsen, B., Formosa, M. (eds) International Perspectives on Older Adult Education. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24939-1_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24939-1_31
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24937-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24939-1
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)