Credit: Public domain.
A recent report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family 여성가족부 found that youth - defined as those between ages of 9 and 24, as per the Framework Act on Youth 청소년기본법 - make up 15.3% of South Korea’s population, or approximately 7.8m persons. With South Korea’s declining birth rate, the proportion of youth has also been in decline; in 2010, youth accounted for 20.9% of the total population.
The graying is more pronounced in South Korea’ rural areas. The farming towns of Gunwi-gun County, Daegu 대구 군위군 and Euiseong-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province 경상북도 의성군 had the lowest proportion of youth, respectively accounting for 6.2% and 6.8% of the population. Meanwhile, the industrial area of Gwangsan-gu District, Gwangju 광주 광산구 (20.2%) and the military base town of Gyeryong, Chungcheongnam-do Province 충청남도 계룡시 (20.1%) had the highest proportion.