The Philippines has the youngest population in East Asia, with an average age of 26.  In contrast, South Korea is the oldest with an average age of 46.  Although there is hope of some easing in the demographic crisis of South Korea when in 2025 its birth rate rose for a second-straight year, its 5.0 new births per 1,000 people is still below 5.6 of China and 5.7 of Japan.  Because of its shrinking population, South Korea’s potential economic growth rate estimated at around an annual rate of 2% fell by six percentage points in the last three decades, more sharply than in most major economies, and is expected to drop to 0.6 % by 2045-2049, according to the country’s central bank. 

            Credit rating agencies warn of growing strains on public finances from welfare expenditures. The country’s public pension fund, the world’s largest with $1 trillion in assets, is projected to run out by 2071.  South Korea’s population of 51.8 million today is expected to shrink by almost a third to 36.2 by 2072, according to the latest government projection in 2022.  In contrast, the Philippine population continues to grow, despite its fertility rate having declined to below replacement rate of 2.1 babies per fertile woman.  In 2026, it was already 1.6 but it will take time before the population starts to fall.  The most recent estimate is that the population of the Philippines will peak at 135 million some time in 2055 to 2060.  Meanwhile, the relatively young population of the Philippines can still provide workers for ageing countries like Japan and South Korea.

            A recent article by Song Jung-Ain Seoul and Persis Love in London that appeared in the Financial Times highlighted the serious shortage of caregivers in South Korea in the midst of a super-aged society, with those 65 years and older accounting for 20 per cent of the total population.  One in five elderly people lives alone, leading to some of the highest rates of senior poverty, depression and suicide in the developed world.  Enter Hyodol, an AI doll that offers companionship to South Korea’s elderly amid the shortage of care givers.  Hyodol operates on OpenAI’s Chat GPT system, provides elderly people living alone with a sense of companionship, mimicking human interaction, thanks to advanced language processing and emotional recognition systems.  It is also a health monitor, issuing alerts to family members or social workers in the event of a medical emergency.

            Although I respect the contrary opinion, I consider this solution as a rather inhuman solution to the problem of loneliness and the need for affection among the elders.  A country like the Philippines that still has a young population and has a relatively high rate of unemployment and especially underemployment should be able to afford supplying countries like South Korea (or Japan) with care givers for their ageing populations.  There are about 80,000 Filipinos living in South Korea, among whom are close to 40,000 Overseas Filipino Workers.  These OFWS are mostly in manufacturing, agriculture & fisheries and construction.  There are very few caregivers (about 100) who have been employed under a pilot program.  It is hoped that this pilot program can lead to a much bigger number of Filipinos who can give a more humane solution to the problem of loneliness among the senior citizens of one of the richest countries in East Asia.

            South Korea may want to study the case of Taiwan that employs about 230,000 foreign caregivers among whom are about 30,000 Filipinos.  Most of these caregivers are home-based.  There are about 173,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan.  In comparison, there are about 3,600 Filipino nurses and caregivers working in Japan, mainly in hospitals and nursing homes.  Total Filipino population in Japan is relatively large at 340,000 but caregivers are only a tiny fraction.  From 3,000 to 4,000 today, the number could rise to 10,000 by 2030.  South Korea may present the fastest growth potential, from a low base of only 80 to 100 caregivers today to as much as  15,000 by 2030.  South Korea can be considered the “sleeping giant” market with the biggest upside but dependent on policy decisions.

            In making more productive use of the so-called “demographic dividend” or sweet spot that the Philippines is still enjoying (at least for the next thirty years), it would be advisable for Philippine policy makers to coordinate with South President Lee Jae Myung’s plan to prepare a five-year policy road map to respond to their perceived economic shock from an ageing population.  Part of this road map, besides the obvious support for childbirth, are measures to attract skilled foreign workers to offset Korea’s shrinking workforce.  The ongoing wise shift of our educational programs towards more technical skills away from college diplomas can include a listing of those skills that our neighboring countries like South Korea and Japan will be needing to supplement their limited supply of such workers as nurses, care givers, hotel and restaurant workers.  Realistically, even if future Philippine Administrations can succeed in accelerating our GDP growth rate to 8 % or more annually, we will continue to suffer from some degree of unemployment and underemployment, especially considering that Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Robotization and Data Analytics will lead to the laying off of many of our own workers in such occupations, as call centers and retailing.  At least for the next twenty years, we will have enough workers for our own needs and those of our East Asian neighbors (not to mention countries in Europe) who will suffer most from depopulation and rapid ageing.  The OFW phenomenon will be around for the foreseeable future.

            With the BTS entertainment group from South Korea once again making waves all over the world after the individual performers completed their military services, we are reminded that another area of complementarity between our two countries is in the entertainment business. South Korea has perfected the state support given to their creative industries.  Filipino artistic talents, especially in singing and dancing, have proved to be among the best in the world, constantly winning the top awards in amateur contests all over the world.  Cooperation among the enterprises and talents of the two countries can lead to their dominating the world entertainment industry.  Just to let my imagination run wild, a group patterned after the BTS but made up of Korean and Filipino talents will be unbeatable.  The Netflix K-Drama series can be opportunities for talents from the two countries to work together in supplying the whole world with entertainment.

            As a final word, the Philippine workforce can benefit from close partnerships with Korean management and workers  because of their having perfected the attention to the smallest details in manufacturing products or rendering services.  Unfortunately, many of our workers (and, therefore, managers) still suffer from the “medyo tama, medyo mali, tama na” syndrome in performing their work. Perfection in the littlest details is not yet part of our culture.  That is why, I was struck by the symbolism to which Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa referred when he described the dinner table at the State Visit of President Lee Jae Myung.  The table was adorned with sampaguita blossoms.  As an amateur gardener, I am very familiar with Philippine flowers.  The sampaguita is one of the humblest flowers compared to roses, orchids, gumamela, heliconia, anthurium and pink Katrina.  Each sampaguita is too small but exudes a sweet fragrance.  Strung together in a garland, they serve to decorate important personalities.  As Ambassador Sang-hwa wrote, their quiet fragrance symbolized the enduring friendship between South Korea and the Philippines.  The littleness of each sampaguita also symbolizes what we can learn from Korean workers:  the importance of paying attention to the smallest details in the work we do. There is no room for sloppiness in human work which to a Christian is the ordinary way of sanctifying oneself and giving glory to God.  For comments, my email address is bernardo.villegas@uap.asia.