Korea's tightly knit family networks, where children looked after their aged parents, are rapidly weakening, notes columnist Lee Jee-hoon from the Chosun Ilbo's Business Desk. Myohyang: Old Korean Man - Copyright photograph by Peter Langer
SEOUL, KOREA (Chosun), April 9, 2007:
"To live a second life after retirement well, a man has to learn how to cook," the CEO of a large corporation rather startlingly advised in a recent conversation about retirement. It was so unexpected because the CEO usually impressed others as being in the traditional mold.
"As a matter of fact, one of the biggest problems men encounter after retirement is preparing their meals," he said.
"Wives complain they have little leisure time left after preparing three meals a day for their husbands. But if husbands can cook, they can live independently without depending on their wife’s whims and command respect from their families. When the wife is out to meet one of her friends and telephones her husband to tell him I’ll be late tonight, how wonderful if he can tell her, Don't worry! I'll prepare supper?"
Is learning to cook the only thing he does? No. Having bought a farm house and a plot of upland field in the countryside, he is learning farming at the weekend, to prepare himself for his retirement.
The CEO of a financial institution says he deliberately uses public transport at the weekend, also to prepare for his retirement. "One of my friends who has been looked after by his secretaries all his life doesn't know how to buy a subway ticket," he said. "Lest I should be labeled incompetent after retirement, I have to start practicing now."
The stories of the two CEOs in a way inspire respect. As one might expect of people who have worked hard and succeeded in their respective areas, they implement plans for their lives after retirement.
But preparations for life after retirement differ markedly among individuals. Some people who retire without any preparations agonize over how to use their newfound leisure, others becomes homeless.
One big problem is a generation gap in preparations for old age. The situation was more bearable for the generations that have already retired; preparations for life after retirement are much more difficult for those who will retire in the future. The environment those in their 30s and 40s will face, in particular, looks especially grim, because employers, children and government, the three pillars that have propped up Koreans in their old age, are starting to look unreliable.
Employers, with corporate restructuring becoming routine and the age of retirement being lowered further and further, have already lost their significance as a provider of a safety net for the aged.
Korea's tightly knit family networks, where children looked after their aged parents, are rapidly weakening, while the cost of sending children to crammers and overseas studies increased exponentially.
Nor can we rely on the government, the last welfare bastion, any longer. The national pension fund is projected to go broke in 2047. The administration pushed a revision to the national pension law that would entail paying more and getting less, only to be rejected by lawmakers with an eye on their constituency voters. That may reduce the burden on citizens for the time being, but the burden for the younger generation is bound to soar in proportion.
The president of an American insurance firm warned during a recent visit to Korea that one-third of senior citizens here may not be able to get national pensions at all, at the rate society is aging. Our greatest fears are becoming reality.
How many years will a 45-year-old office worker have to prepare himself for old age? Given the average retirement age and life expectancy, he will work another eight years in his office, until he gets to 53, and live for another 28 years in retirement.
The only choice is to prepare for life after retirement on our own. It prompts a heavy sigh. Then again, when did we ever live in peace by relying on others? The only choice is to hold out to the end. Perhaps we should all learn cooking and farming, like the company president.
Copyright (c)2003 DIGITAL CHOSUN All rights reserved.
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