Parents' Day brings back memories from 53 years ago. On May 8, 1973, as an elementary school student, I pinned a paper carnation on my father's chest for the first time. I still remember how he looked awkward yet smiled brightly at the unexpected gesture. Starting that year, when Mother's Day was changed to Parents' Day, children began preparing two carnations instead of one.
Each country has its own way of honoring parents. France designates the last Sunday of May as Mother's Day and the third Sunday of June as Father's Day, typically marking the occasions lightly with flowers or greeting cards. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan observe similar customs. South Korea, where families gather and treat Parents' Day almost like a national holiday, stands as a successful example of modernizing the traditional culture of filial piety (hyo) and respect for elders.
Yet attitudes toward filial piety and elder care in Korea are shifting significantly. According to a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs last year, only 20.63 percent agreed that "children are responsible for supporting their parents." In the first survey in 2007, 52.6 percent had agreed that children bear responsibility for parental care. In a Gallup Korea survey conducted on April 28-30, 59 percent of respondents supported raising the age threshold for seniors from the current 65 to 70, a sharp increase from 46 percent in 2015.
The shift likely stems from Korea's entry into a super-aged society at the fastest pace in the world. Korea entered an "aged society," where those aged 65 and older account for more than 14 percent of the population, in 2017, and became a super-aged society (20 percent) just seven years later in 2024. France took more than 30 years to make the same transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. To make matters worse, projections suggest that by 2050, one in five Koreans will be aged 80 or older.
Rapid aging brings enormous social costs. According to government estimates, social security spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will surge from about 15.5 percent in 2025 to 26.9 percent in 2065, driven by a rapid rise in pension and medical costs. The old-age dependency ratio, which measures the elderly population per 100 working-age people, is projected to jump from 29.3 in 2025 to 47.7 in 2035 and reach 77.3 by 2050. Leaving this unmanageable burden unaddressed could lead to catastrophe.
To prevent such a catastrophe, France has pursued elder welfare policies centered on "harmony between self-reliance and solidarity" since the early 2000s. First, it incorporated "home hospitalization" into legal hospitalization care, generating 30-40 percent cost savings compared with hospital admissions. It also expanded the "autonomous housing" model, which combines the independence of home life with institutional support, allowing the elderly to receive care and enjoy social solidarity in familiar living environments. Particularly noteworthy is the introduction of an "intergenerational cohabitation" elder welfare model. Under this system, people aged 60 and older rent part of their homes at low cost to young people under 30, simultaneously addressing elderly isolation and youth housing shortages. It is a model Korea should consider.
In contrast, Italy, caught in the "gerontocracy" trap, should serve as a cautionary tale. Italy invited its own crisis by clinging to populism that courted votes from the over-65 population, which exceeds one in four Italians, while neglecting policies for young people. The government debt ratio surged to 148 percent of GDP, and the unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 soared to 42.7 percent at one point. The term "gerontocracy," combining the Greek words "geron" (old age) and "cracy" (rule), has become associated with Italy as a representative example.
In Korea, eight out of 10 adults aged 40 and above reportedly wish to receive care in their later years in the homes or neighborhoods where they have lived. Given this, measures to prepare for a super-aged society, such as the successful implementation of the "community integrated care" program now in its second month, are urgently needed. But the costs future generations will bear remain a concern. Moreover, fiscal conditions are tight, with international credit rating agency Moody's projecting that Korea's government debt (D2) ratio to GDP will exceed 60 percent by 2030. If not careful, Korea, where aging is progressing far faster than in Italy, could fall into the gerontocracy trap as well. Before it is too late, Korea must find a path of "generational coexistence" where the elderly can enjoy a dignified remaining life and death, and young people can enjoy good jobs and a bright future. Finding that path is not impossible if Korea draws on its deep-rooted tradition of filial piety and respect for elders.
