Stony Brook University Faculty of Sciences and Humanities

[Hankyung Essay] Ways to Prevent Population Collapse

A few days ago, Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) that, based on the current birth rate, South Korea will face population collapse in three generations. I appreciate Musk for raising awareness about the population decline, which many of us have been indifferent to.

One interesting proposal from Donald Trump during the recent U.S. presidential election was to strictly control illegal immigrants crossing the border, but to offer permanent residency to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges or graduate schools. What a clever idea. By stopping potentially harmful illegal immigration and instead offering green cards to educated and wealthy foreign graduates, smart and affluent people from around the world would flock to the U.S.

Why do so many people around the world want to live in the U.S.? There are many benefits to U.S. permanent residency. Green card holders enjoy almost all the social benefits of U.S. citizens, except for the right to vote. They can receive free public education, pay more affordable college tuition (over 60% less than international students), and also receive financial aid and housing subsidies. After graduation, they can work without a visa, and if they are unemployed, they can receive unemployment benefits as well. If they give birth in the U.S., the child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen due to the Territorial principle. This is why, despite a declining birth rate, the U.S. has less concern about population issues.

We should consider similar policies in South Korea. By attracting foreign students who love Korea, we could solve the problem of population decline and labor shortages, and even revitalize disappearing regional universities. More importantly, we could bring in bright minds to fill the shortage of graduate school researchers and make Korea a global leader in science and technology.

So, what if Korea temporarily adopts the Territorial principle? Recently, a friend who runs an automobile parts company in the Namdong Industrial Complex in Incheon told me that the wife of a foreign employee had to return to her home country to give birth. Foreign employees cannot register the birth of their child in Korea, and it is legally complicated, so they return to their home countries to give birth. What if, like in the U.S., we allowed foreign parents to register their child’s birth in Korea, and the child could choose South Korean citizenship or dual citizenship when they graduate from elementary school or fulfill military service?

This year, Incheon’s birth rate increase was the highest in the country, with an 8.3% rise. It seems that policies such as the “100 million won Plus I-Dream" and housing support for newlyweds implemented by Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok are showing results. It would be worthwhile for the Korean government to consider integrating these effective birth rate-boosting policies from Incheon into a nationwide strategy.

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