[https://www.reddit.com/r/geography/comments/17kxo9l/south\_koreans\_perception\_of\_the\_population/](https://www.reddit.com/r/geography/comments/17kxo9l/south_koreans_perception_of_the_population/)
I live in Korea.
England and South Korea are quite similar in terms of area and population. However, as you can see from the link, Koreans tend to think that their country’s population is small, and most hope that the population will increase in the future.
On the other hand, there have been several similar surveys in the UK, but on the contrary, most people in the UK believe that the UK’s population is large and prefer population reduction. What could have created such a big difference in the perception of the population?
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More to the point, why do you expect English and Koreans to share any similar views at all when they’re extremely different countries thousands of miles apart?
I think the English view on population has more to do with services and housing not keeping up with rises in numbers plus there are a lot of people who feel like we’ve taken in a lot of people who have different cultural views and it’s not all been beneficial.
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South Korea’s fertility rate is 0.84 – the UK’s is 1.56.
What that means is South Korea’s population is essentially shrinking and getting older – it’s a huge problem, and the populace is very aware of it. We’re not quite at that point yet.
South Korea has one of the lowest Total Fertility Rates in the world with just 0.84 births per woman (as of 2020 per Google). By contrast, the UK has a TFR of 1.56 births per woman.
Whilst the TFR in the UK is still below replacement rate but it’s still almost double the rate for South Korea. If Koreans really do think their population is too small and hope for it to increase then they’re clearly not translating desire into action – whatever the reasons may be.
Firstly, the U.K. birth rate is double that of Korea. 1.56 here in 2020. 0.84 for Korea.
It’s clearly a bigger problem for them.
Why do Belgians and Argentinians have completely different views on Two’s Company?
Different cultures have different desires and feelings. More at 10!
I can’t imagine why you’d think we do share similar views? We are so different… geographically, culturally….
But I’m happy to have a crack at the first barmy question of the day. South Korea is proper densely populated. High rise apartment living is accepted as normal. It’s not in the UK, so our perception of what is liveable land is different.
The UK also doesn’t build infrastructure along with housing. People here think “we’re full” because houses get built, but roads, rails, schools, parks, shops, medical centres etc…. don’t.
Our population is viewed in terms of European neighbours, we are the second most populated European country. Russia and Turkey only have a percentage in Europe and the rest is in Asia.
Korea has a small population compared to China, Japan which are their Far Eastern neighbours.
My guess would be that South Korea compares itself to Japan and China which have much, much bigger populations, and that dense, high-rise apartment living is the norm so people have a different standard for what they consider crowded.
Maybe because they live right next to fucking China
S Korean population is shrinking and ageing. It also believes it needs a vast conscript military as an existential necessity.
Aside from fertility rate that others have mentioned, Korea might have better healthcare with shorter waiting lists, or a better housing market, better schooling or any other number of differences that might feel like they aren’t exacerbated by too many people. If Korea is currently fairly well run it might feel like you can sustain more people.
Right now in the UK, it feels like you can’t see your GP, can’t get the police to help with problems, your local council is pissing money up the wall, it’s very hard to own your own home in many places etc. All things that adding more people to would in theory make worse.
I’m not sure if Korea has many of the same elements, just a potential cause I can think of that might explain the different attitudes.
England ≠ UK
> prefer population reduction
It’s more immigration reduction. Which puts massive strain on services and housing. Which has been continually voted against, but ignored.
We had 600,000 net importation of people last year alone. Quick google says SK had 168,000.
TIL all English people have the same view of population.
Kurzgesagt have a nice video on the situation in South Korea and in the same video they cover the general topic of population change in developed countries – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBudghsdByQ
The planet is burning, more people will make it worse.
We have more immigration and that is seen as the main driver of population growth.
Koreans have less, so are more preoccupied with their low birth rate and therefore ageing population.
You can ask the people of each country the SAME question, but they are thinking of DIFFERENT things in their minds.
> Koreans tend to think that their country’s population is small, and most hope that the population will increase in the future.
The English have the exact same view on this as the Koreans… ask Koreans if they want said growth in population to be from open borders rather than births from Korean parents and you’ll get the same reply.
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/net-migration#:~:text=The%20current%20net%20migration%20rate,a%209.82%25%20increase%20from%202021.
Korea net migration rate is 0.390 per 1000 population
UK net migration rate is 2.240 per 1000 population. What is the exact figure for England specifically? We don’t know, but we can guess it’s definitely more than 0.390, probably more than half of UK immigration is to England.
Are native born or ethnic Koreans a minority in their capital city?
Because 98% of them are ethnic Korean. Ask them if they want to be only be 50% of the population and still want more immigrants/population growth.
South Korea has a very low level of immigration and also lower birth rates compared to the UK. Their infrastructure is not being overloaded like ours. So their perception on population size is different.
The populations may be similar but the land area and ESPECIALLY the amount of buildable land that isn’t mountains or hills like 70% of south korea is
You’re left with extremely high density populations in the flat areas of south korea
Whilst England is nowhere near that, although if it wants to keep it’s rural landscapes then it mustn’t allow more mass produced cheap shitty car dependant suburbs that are covered in fake grass ☠️
Obvious answer is that nearly 50% of South Koreans live in the Seoul Capital area.
We don’t have countries nearby that are somewhat hostile. Perhaps if our history with France was closer to that of Japan/Korea it would be comparable. That would need France to have an extra 60M people.
I think it’s less that people in the UK think we are overpopulated and more that people think that there aren’t enough houses/services available and often the “too many people” thing refers to the fact that we’re importing, as of last year, a million new people a year into a country where the average property costs 8x the average salary (and that’s ignoring SE England).
Island mentality is a part of it. I think being on an island is a bit like a larger scale version of being in a walled town, it encourages more of a ‘control who comes in, manage this space’ mentality. It creates the illusion of a mini-world where you can control more or less precisely what (and who) you let in from the outside world. Resources, and the social environment, are therefore guarded more jealously.
Not enough houses innit.
Are there any similarities between us and Koreans?
Context: The UK is surrounded by small European countries, Korea by China and Japan with massive populations. Big fish in a small pond vs big fish in an ocean.
1) The UK governments data on population is massively under recorded. The actual population is much higher.
2) I don’t know Korea’s immigration rates, but I can guarantee they won’t be even close to the UKs
3) The UK has a massive shortage of housing, schools, dentists, doctors etc etc
Basically the UK is at max capacity
England’s neighbours are Scotland, France, Wales, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands.
Korea’s neighbours are China (and Japan, but mainly CHINA).
Feels like therein lies an obvious answer. Insecurity.
Korea has a massive decline in births, going from 2.8 per woman in the 80s, to 0.8 in 2020.
When Koreans express a desire for a higher population, they’re saying ‘have more kids!’
When Brits say they want a lower population they’re saying ‘less immigration please’
As others have said, the fertility rate is very different, immigration is very different and perhaps local comparisons give a different perspectives.
Korea doesn’t look to immigration to prop up it’s population. It’s also an ethnically homogenous country and due to its history of being under the thumb of either Japan or China importing people isn’t an attractive prospect. Korea only really started becoming a force in its own right 70 years ago and it didn’t really start gathering steam until the 1980s.
>Koreans tend to think that their country’s population is small, and most hope that the population will increase in the future.
This is SO BIZARRE to me given how ultra competitive Korean society. You’d think they’d be wanting less people and less competition, making life a bit easier for everyone.
South Korea has China next door. UK has Ireland. It’s ‘neighbour perception’.
Well Koreans have one of the lowest (if not the lowest) birthrates in the world. They’re also really hostile to immigration. So their population is shrinking, it’s a hard fact.
Crime.
There are news articles today which state that the uk prisons are now at full capacity.
Demographic.
An aging demographic is typically considered very bad for economies
Welfare.
Many people on welfare are seen as lazy or freeloaders
The elephant in the room.
Is it all populations that are considered to be too large? Or is it that the population that are on welfare, the wrong demographic or do crime are too high?
I’d prefer a population reduction.
It depends how much land the people have access too. Something crazy like two thirds of land in the uk is privately owned.
Korea is a largely racially and culturally homogenous society, where population growth would presumably come from births, or a limited pool of migrants who want to adopt a Korean way of life.
In the UK, we have more migrants than we have children being born, by a very large margin. Our native culture is steadily being eroded, replaced by a multitude of cultures.
We have taken in millions of people in the hope it will prop up out economy as the population ages.
Unfortunately we imported millions who just drain the system
Got to any major city and see a benefits office, hospital and school.
Then drive around the areas where certain groups of migrants shop and live. You will see thousands of people all day everyday just mooching about not in work.
I imagine Korea is mostly Korean. And when they want population growth I’d imagine most want it to he Koreans