[Lee Boram's Senior Trend] "Age Means Business"

It is not only Korea where life expectancy is increasing. In most countries around the world, the population aged 60 and over is rapidly growing. The pace of aging is steeper than predicted. According to the 2012 World Population Report, around 2047, for the first time in human history, the population aged 60 and above will surpass those under 15, a phenomenon called the “great reversal.”

The international community has begun to move away from resisting aging and instead started researching and designing new systems, with Korea being the place where these practical environments arise first.

Where can we find exemplary cases of coping with aging?

In response, among many stories, I found the perspective of Professor Emeritus Han Kyung-hye from Seoul National University, learned during the lecture on 'Well Aging, Senior Industry,' to be the freshest and most relatable. This is “Aging Means Business: A Korean Case.”

Most Korean gerontology PhDs studied in the United States or the United Kingdom. Due to early industrialization, social capital is well established, enabling systematic research and institutional arrangements for preparing an aging society. From a business perspective, the presence of diverse global brands has led to active efforts to cater to senior customers.

On the other hand, there is Japan. Being a neighboring country and the first in Asia to face aging, it offers many practical cases worth referencing. Korea’s Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly was significantly influenced by Japan’s Kaigo Insurance, adapted to Korean circumstances. Before COVID-19, local governments, companies, and organizations conducting research or business in the silver industry would make sure to visit Japan.

Cases from Northern Europe also occasionally appear. Known as welfare paradises, they offer unique approaches.

Though a latecomer, China is the most active country preparing for an aging society. Premier Li Keqiang has made official statements on the matter, as the sheer scale of the aging population poses a huge challenge. Under the central government’s leadership, radical innovations are occurring through the enforced implementation of advanced systems tailored for the elderly.

When I was working in China, I was asked to investigate Japan’s aging industry. Through this senior industry research, I came to understand the ‘Four Stages of the Life Cycle Theory’ proposed by British social philosopher Peter Laslett and the ‘30-year third phase of life after forty’ studied by Professor William Saddler of Harvard University’s Adult Development Institute, which led me to enter this field.

What about the future?

The number of global scholars observing and researching Korea’s case is increasing. This is because Korea is experiencing a super-aged society at the steepest pace.

Even now, if you conduct global business, the Northeast Asian region of Korea, China, and Japan is an indispensable market leading in scale and trends, and the first testing ground for entering Asia. All these Northeast Asian countries are moving toward aging societies. So, when Western companies engage in senior business or Asian countries study aging societies, which country would they want as a model? I hope the answer is Korea.

Until now, when thinking of the elderly in Korea, welfare issues requiring care come to mind first. The silver industry was seen as something heavy, difficult, and painful. Therefore, the industry is trying to create new terms like Well Aging, Yong Old, or Active Senior to change perceptions and segment the market. Everything about aging can become a business item. For example, there is the diet of Okinawa, famous worldwide as a longevity village. Multinational research teams visit the area to study the longevity diet, widely share the recipes, and the local ingredients are sold worldwide.

We have already experienced how the K-pop and K-drama waves have increased interest and favorability toward our culture, boosting related sales. Korean cuisine now has an opportunity for a new turning point. Moreover, areas that can be branded naturally increase, such as leisure lifestyle patterns and health management methods.

Of course, this longevity trend can also be a burden and a crisis, and we have yet to create clear solutions. The senior market is not a single entity. Within this senior generation, there are very diverse elderly people. Their needs can vary greatly and cannot be defined simply by age.

From the perspective of younger generations, people in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s may seem indistinguishable and homogeneous. When riding the subway, asking someone’s age to decide who should sit or stand in the priority seats shows that even within the senior group, distinctions are not easy. Due to advances in medicine and differences in lifestyle, physical ages vary widely.

It is not age but disposition?that is, the lifestyle one leads?that causes significant individual differences. Therefore, how to live healthily has become more important than genetic factors. It is about well aging rather than anti-aging. Which company is the first to try to satisfy these complex Korean senior consumers? Naturally, it will start in Korea, and this can expand globally. It is not about following; we are leading.

Recent global senior trends require depth in specifics rather than general overviews. Everything about aging can be a business item, but experience in execution is crucial.

This is not a fight without chances. However, internalizing new social perspectives is necessary. There is a book by Peter Laslett called A Fresh Map of Life. When dividing life into four parts, he suggests viewing the third and fourth phases not as a downhill but as a U-curve. Highlighting the positive aspects of aging and at a time when there is no clear prescription for how to live well, we must carve out a new path.

Now, the real game begins.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age