South Korea tries $500 incentive to encourage reclusive kids to venture out

The government of South Korea is urging reclusive kids to step out of their homes and experience the world outside.

The country's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said that the cabinet approved a resolution on Tuesday to potentially spend thousands of dollars year on education, career counselling, and health support for those who are living as recluses and are between the ages of nineand 24, reported Bloomberg.

The programme, which expands on a November statement, is aimed at people who have significant social withdrawal, or "hikikomori," a term coined in Japan to describe the condition, which likely became worse by the pandemic.

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Youth in South Korea who meet certain criteria can get funding in a number of categories, including a monthly living expense allowance of 650,000 won (US$490).

The ministry issued a statement stating that the government is "strengthening its support to enable reclusive youth to recover their daily lives and reintegrate into society."

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The primary objective of the policy is to assist underprivileged kids, but it is also a means by which the nation might address its declining working-age population in the face of frighteningly low birthrates and stringent immigration regulations.

By 2044, South Korea is expected to have an ageing population that will only be surpassed by Hong Kong in terms of the proportion of the population that is over 65.

Government officials have responded by making a number of emergency actions, such as providing childcare subsidies to raise the lowest fertility rate in the world. Attempts to raise the country’s population through births have cost more than $200 billion so far, but with limited success.

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This action was taken right after President Yoon Suk Yeol urged officials to approach the matter with a "emergency mindset" and dubbed the birthrate and subsequent drop in productivity a "crucial national agenda".

“This policy is fundamentally a welfare measure,” saidShin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul, who spoke to Bloomberg.“While it’s good to try various approaches to boost working age population, it cannot be seen as a long-term solution to fix the population problem here.”

Despite the country's booming economy in recent years, South Korea continues to struggle with high youth unemployment, which is the highest among all age groups at 7.2 per cent.

(With inputs from agencies)


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