The Fear of Extinction and the Need of Unification

• In Event: New Frontiers of Korean Political Economy

Abstract

How does the South Koreans' perception of low fertility and population aging (LFPA) affect their need for unification? LFPA, a significant social phenomenon in South Korea, has been discussed in various fields such as demography and sociology, but it has not been widely considered as an important variable in political science. While existing studies acknowledge that unification is a crucial social change process in a divided country like South Korea, they have limitations in not closely analyzing LFPA, a key social change phenomenon. This study therefore aims to compensate for this research gap by testing the hypothesis that individuals who perceive the severity of LFPA more negatively are more likely to view unification as necessary. In other words, this paper seeks to specify the correlation between unification perception and LFPA using the Unification Perception data from 2016 to 2019. Simultaneously, within the framework of the local extinction theory, we analyze the impact of LFPA on unification by comparing and applying explanations of Japanese social change to the Korean case. Empirical tests indicate that the influence of LFPA on the desire for unification is statistically significant at both the pooled cross-sectional and cross-sectional levels: as LFPA severity increases, so does the intensity of the desire for unification. Through the theoretical framework, LFPA impacts not only local extinction but also influences the perception of unification.

Authors

• Seongho Park, Yonsei University

• Byungwon Woo, Yonsei University