Current Issue

In recent years in South Korea, the growth of the elderly population has increased. South Korea is the world’s fastest aging country, and it is likely to be the world’s “oldest” country. It is expected to become an “aged society” in 2018, and finally, it would become a “super-aged society” in 2028 (Korea National Statistical Office [KNSO], 2008). Korea’s rapidly aging population creates a social burden that is one of the society’s most significant challenges. This challenge may be met by the involvement of the elderly in economic activities, which is another area of concern.

Elderly women, in particular, need more attention because they have a longer life expectancy but extremely lower monthly income than elderly men. Thus, building a supporting system to promote and guarantee elderly women’s economic activities is an important precondition for solving the current problems of South Korea as an aging society.

In an aging society, the economic activities of elderly people are meaningful in both individual and social points of view. With regard to the individual viewpoint, the elderly can advance their quality of life by participating in social and economic activities. With regard to the social aspect, economic activities of the elderly would contribute to reduction of the aging people’s social burden and to the development of human resource capacity.

However, although elderly people have suffered from economic difficulties and the social needs for their economic activities have increased due to the advancement of medical technology, they still lack sufficient and systemized vocational education in order to get new jobs. It is true that elderly people face various obstacles when they enter the labor market. Despite the significance of female senior citizens’ economic activities in the aging society, there is no substantial and effective system to support their economic activities and income generation. Furthermore, most researches on economic activities of the elderly population do not deal with women elderly separately but treat them as a part of the total population of elderly people. Therefore, in order to solve the economic problems of elderly women in an aging society, it is important that we study specific ways that can develop and strengthen policies for supporting elderly women’s successful economic activities.

In addition, it is essential to strengthen the capability of policy and program developers for elderly women’s career development and training. Therefore, an educational program and a effective support system for such experts should be provided. For these reasons, this paper investigates organizations and working-level officials in Seoul area with regard to the status of vocational programs for female senior citizens and tries to provide an effective and substantial guide for generating jobs and income for elderly women. In promoting human resource development for elderly women, this research suggests a vision relative to decreasing social burden, enforcing national competency, and advancing Korean and elderly women.

According to the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD), South Korea will be the most aged country ager after Japan by the middle of the 21st century, and labor power could decrease in twenty or thirty years. Furthermore, KNSO (2009) reported that the population size will reach its peak in 2020 and decrease thereafter. In particular, as shown in Table 1, the size of the elderly population will increase, with a rate of increase in 2050 that is 4.75 times as fast as that in 2000.

Growth in the numbers and populations of the elderly has increased pressure on long-term care and social service systems. For instance, the social burden for the elderly (over 65 years old) in South Korea has increased from 6.1% in 1980 to 10.1% in 2000, with expected increases to 37.7% in 2030 and 72.0% in 2050 (see in Table 2).

According to a recent OECD report, Gini coefficient of South Korea is 0.396, which is the second highest measure of income inequality or wealth of the elderly aged 65 and above, after Mexico (0.560).⁶ Income or wealth in South Korea tends to decrease after one becomes 50 years old (see Figure 1). Income in South Korea begins to decrease at much younger ages than in other countries, and at-a much faster rate than other countries.

Figure 1 
International Income by Age in Selected OECD Countries⁷

As a super-aged society, where increasing costs of elderly care and unequal income or wealth experienced by the elderly are realities, the problem of the elderly needs to be dealt with as a social and policy issue. In particular, we need to devise policies with regard to public pension and social arrangements for a super-aged society as soon as possible because South Korea is rapidly becoming a super-aged society more quickly than any other country.

When employment of the elderly can be extended, the social burdens associated with the elderly will correspondingly decrease. Of course, the elderly might experience difficulties in finding employment, since the labor market is changing continuously. The labor market for the elderly, however, needs to be reformed with reference to the report of the OECD (2004). This report outlines how the labor market including the economic participations of the elderly can be more efficient.

The results of previous studies on employment of elderly people in Korea showed the following: (Choi & Kwon 2007; Kwon & Park, 2007). First, the employment of the elderly may be the solution to social and economic problems in South Korea. Second, it can also enhance welfare and quality of life of the elderly. Third, if the jobs of the elderly can be supplied continuously and the elderly can participate in the labor market, the economic capabilities of the elderly will also increase, which means that social burdens associated with the elderly will decrease.

In South Korea (as shown in Table 3), men’s life expectancy was 72.25 years, women’s was 79.60 years in 2000; in 2020, men’s will be 78.04, and women’s will be 84.68; in 2050, men’s will be 82.87 and women’s will be 88.92. Although the differences between the genders have decreased, elderly women show much longer life expectancy than men. However, it is true that elderly women form the majority of the elderly-population, their monthly income is much lower than that of elderly men’s (KNSO, 2004). The average elderly men’s monthly incomes was 783,000 won, while that of elderly women’s was 299,000 won. Furthermore, as shown in Table 4, public transfer income, which includes public pension, social insurance allowance, elderly’s pension and national basic livelihood security allowance, is 201,000 won for elderly men and 63,000 won for elderly women, 139,000 won between ages of 65 and 69, 119,000 won between ages of 70 and 74, 92,000 won for elderly aged 65 and above.

Thus, to solve the economic and social problems associated with the economic participation of the elderly, we especially need to focus on elderly women’s employment and social environment, and on policies to ensure their employment since, they experience more economic difficulties and have longer life spans. This confirms the immaturity of the public pension scheme in our society, which incites elderly women’s active participation in the labor market. Most elderly women have low literacy levels and minimal work experience. Furthermore, they have spent most of their lives taking care of household affairs, supporting their children and even caring for their grandchildren. Thus, they are at a disadvantage in their efforts to find jobs relative to elderly men. However, most of the studies about employment of the elderly deal with the entire elderly population with regard to such matters as effective senior employment program, and vocational education and training, irrespective of sex (Kwon, 2005; Kim, Lee, & Ahn, 2004; OECD, 2004); thus, studies on elderly women’s employment are rare.

Therefore, this study seeks to present effective and specific answers regarding the requisites for generating jobs and relevant education for elderly women, and the kind of education that must be provided to working-level officials in charge of related efforts; the study pursues this end by examining programs for creating jobs for elderly women and discovering problems in order to address the rising social cost resulting from a lack of social and economic systems for assisting elderly women with practical and effective economic activities, and to improve their quality of life at advanced ages.

As examined above, the Korean government is stepping up efforts to develop a system in which elderly people can continue vocational activities in order to boost the nation’s competitiveness and to pursue sustainable growth as the country verges on becoming an aged society. As part of these efforts, the government has been implementing employment programs for the elderly (including programs for the public good, education and welfare, market participation and manpower participation) since 2004. These are national policy programs that aim to expand opportunities for healthy seniors who are willing to work to participate in social activities; the programs also seek to improve seniors’ quality of life by providing them with suitable jobs.

Specifically, elderly’ employment programs run by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs are operated by the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged under the auspices of the ministry and local governments. Related activities such as recruitment and management of participants of such programs are conducted directly by the Senior Club, the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Center, the Korea Senior Citizens’ Association, and local governments. The government is also operating an organization exclusively responsible for seniors’ employment affairs, including policy assistance, development and supply of jobs, education, public relations and promotion, evaluation, and surveys and research. (Kang, 2008, p. 136).

However, senior citizen welfare and employment programs are currently being implemented by two different government agencies, namely the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. As a result, information is not adequately shared by the organizations that are conducting such programs, causing significant limitations in their efficiency and effect. Notably, public and private sector organizations are managing and coordinating programs for senior citizens’ employment (see Table 5), but education and cultivation of the officials responsible for the actual operation at field sites are not adequately conducted to meet the needs of the organizations that implement these programs; especially vis-à-vis understanding of senior citizens’ psychological and physical conditions and desire for work opportunities.

This has resulted in disruptions in the supply of qualified and professional manpower. Public and private sector job centers for the elderly and human resources banks for senior citizens have failed to share data and information in a systematic fashion, and are not adequately interlinked in their operation. As a result, programs are overlapping in certain cases, and the efficacy of such programs is not maximized.

In addition, there are differences in purposes, targets, activities and achievements of employment assistance organizations for elderly people, which results in inefficiency and ineffectiveness. For instance, the organizations under the Ministry of Labor aim to balance manpower supply and demand in the labor market and enhance job security; those under the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs seek to improve senior citizens’ quality of life; meanwhile, those under the Seoul Metropolitan City aim to assure practical income and mental stability of the elderly. Such differences allow for diversification, but they make it impossible for these organizations to simultaneously cooperate in sharing and jointly managing information and resources, thus causing confusion among the elderly and creating inconveniences in accessing services. Even as they seek employment opportunities in ever-increasing numbers, seniors are failing to find proper employers. Even if elderly people land work, they frequently quit due to a lack of aptitude for such jobs and poor working conditions.

Notably, organizations that conduct employment assistance programs for the elderly have few, if any, experts who adequately understand the particular characteristics of elderly people and who can operate and manage diverse employment programs; moreover, the capacity and skills of such experts are at the beginners’ levels in terms of planning, coordination and control functions. Consequently, even if educational programs are offered to assist elderly people in finding employment and launching businesses, there remains a dearth of experts who can sufficiently and efficiently educate others about such programs, which in turn limits the effectiveness of such efforts. Officials in charge of such work are not paid adequately, and their job security is poor due to their employment status as temporary workers. Notably, private sector organizations generally have only one or two officials in charge of such duties, rendering it very difficult to adequately carry out practical activities (Korea Reasearch Institute for Vocational Education & Training [KRIVET], 2008, p. 25). In order to assure the consolidation and expansion of senior citizen employment assistance programs, this study has examined problems concerning the elderly and related characteristics as perceived by the frontline officials in charge at senior employment assistance agencies all based on the recognition of the need to reinforce the expertise of workers. It also examined the educational needs regarding the kind of educational programs that must be provided to help these people develop expertise in related fields.

Amid the Korean trend of an aging society, in which female seniors’ economic activities and income generation are increasingly important, this study seeks to present effective and specific answers regarding the requisites for generating jobs and relevant education for elderly women, and the kinds of education that must be provided to working-level officials in charge of related efforts; the study pursues this end by examining programs for creating jobs for elderly women and discovering problems in order to address the rising social cost resulting from a lack of social and economic systems for assisting elderly women with practical and effective economic activities, and to improve their quality of life at advanced ages.

In spite of the importance of elderly women’ economic activities, conventional studies on senior citizens’economic activities treated the elderly as a single demographic, and thus only focused on their economic activities, the development of their vocational capacity, and the effect of projects for their employment; such studies failed to effectively reflect the population growth of elderly women and the need for their economic activities. Moreover, a lack of specific policy related to these issues has spawned a lack of systems for education of working-level officials in charge of senior citizen employment. The results of surveys in this study also empirically demonstrate these problems.

There are many fundamental reasons why such problems occur. However, one reason is that whereas the programs to assist senior citizen employment have expanded in scale, there has been a serious lack of efforts on the part of the government and organizations assisting in senior citizen employment to develop curricula on education and training programs and to establish training facilities (Park, 2006). Thus far, education for seniors seeking to launch businesses and secure employment has been offered by social welfare centers, religious organizations, social education institutions at universities and other private sector agencies through activities focused on entertainment and recreation in the name of senior citizens’schools, senior citizens’ universities and courses as part of lifelong education programs. Hence, efforts to develop systematic and sustainable programs and to offer relevant assistance have been insufficient at best. As such, it is necessary to develop and propagate education about the various types of vocations that can sufficiently cater to the particular needs and characteristics of senior citizens. To this end, it is essential to develop programs designed to cultivate and educate rank and file officials in charge of field operations (as well as an evaluation process for such programs), and to provide systematic and constant support to such officials. The cultivation and systematic education of those experts who will conduct such activities are urgently required.

Working-level officials at the frontlines who participated in this study also say they need an understanding of the developmental and psychological characteristics of elderly men and women that results in differentiated education strategies and programs and the creation of diverse jobs; accordingly, they urged the provision of specific and continuous education of working-level officials in charge. A string of activities aimed at developing female seniors as human resources is important not only for the easing of social and economic costs for elderly nursing care, but also for enhancing national competitiveness amid Korea’s aging society.

As such, a top priority is education to boost the capacity of working-level officials in charge, who can carry out educational programs for creating jobs that specifically cater to female seniors; to this end, the national and local governments should extend steadfast and systematic assistance. Moreover, since those officials are having a hard time discovering and developing employers of elderly people, it will be necessary to offer education programs on developing strategies for discovering employers and case studies, and to establish networks between those officials to allow them to share such experiences.