The population question, ageing, immigration policy, housing, and the social contract.
The Education Ministry's annual census shows international enrolment up 54,030 in a year. Total higher-education enrolment rose by roughly the same number.
The May 2026 supplementary survey put the average exit age from a Korean worker's longest-held job at 53.0. The statutory retirement age is 60 and the pension starts at 63. The gap is not a retirement-age problem, and raising the retirement age will not fix it.
The Ministry of Justice, the National Data Agency and the Ministry of the Interior each publish a different figure for how many foreigners are in Korea. The spread between them is 1.24 million people.
Korea's fertility rate has climbed from 0.72 to around 0.9 in three years, and Q1 2026 births rose at the fastest quarterly pace since 1981. Here is what is driving it, what it does not fix, and which figures to watch.
