Foreword (July 2024, Health and Welfare Policy Forum)

Abstract

The July issue of the Health and Welfare Forum is themed around “Perceived Social Insecurity and Social Security Challenges in Korea.” Korea today is tagged with more than a few labels it can hardly take pride in: a society where deciding to have a child is difficult, a society plagued by high suicide rates, and so forth. The social phenomena these labels refer to may have to do, in no small measure, with how we perceive our society as members. Recently, increasing attention has been drawn not only to objective socioeconomic conditions, such as employment and housing insecurity, but also to perceived socioeconomic insecurity. Objective socioeconomic conditions perforce have a significant impact on the lives of society’s members. However, socioeconomic conditions as perceived by members of society can also greatly affect their lives. In this issue of the Health and Welfare Forum, we explore what aspects of socioeconomic conditions people in Korea perceive as insecure, to what extent, and for what reasons. We also inquire into policy options for improvement. Despite Korea’s significant economic growth in a short span of time, the level of perceived social insecurity remains high. While certain socioeconomic conditions are commonly seen as insecure by society at large, what it is about these conditions that is perceived as insecure varies considerably across different life stages. The varying nuances of insecurity perceived by different age groups—such as older adults worrying about aging and preparedness, middle-aged individuals concerned about supporting both elderly parents and grown children, and youth feeling insecure about societal fairness—warrant further investigation. The socioeconomic insecurity as perceived by people as a whole mirrors individual life experiences and cohort-specific experiences of different eras. Research into perceived social insecurity provides a wealth of information that can be used when making and implementing not only psychosocial health policies but social policies in general. Perceived social insecurity among Koreans is high, with the perception of excessive competition waxing and confidence in fairness waning. In such circumstances, the policy issues at hand are many and multifaceted, including those concerning improving both asset-tested and non-asset-tested support programs, enhancing budgetary efficiency, promoting social cohesion, and balancing work incentives with life security. The approach we need now is one that combines upscaling solidarity-based social security policies with implementing other well-knit policy measures to reduce elements in life susceptible to insecurity and enable individuals to run their lives more proactively. Any policy that views a social problem as an isolated phenomenon, losing sight of the context of which it is part, is unlikely to be the answer. The understanding offered here of perceived social insecurity, I hope, will aid in well-rounded policy efforts.