Not long ago, I came across the nutrition section of ‘Made in Gyeongsang’ by Physic University. To be more precise, I was watching the news and the content was very criticism-oriented, so I wondered what it was like. In fact, there seems to be a clear line in the content that strays somewhere between rudeness and comedy. Among the people who came out, if even one of them had anything to do with nutrition, it could be considered a self-destructive joke, but I don't think there's anything like that. Last night, Physic University posted a polite apology.
In fact, as I was watching the video, I naturally looked at YouTube operated by the Yeongyang County Office and learned that a wild vegetable festival was recently held. I watched several videos and what surprised me was that there were no people there. Personally, I have lived in Seoul and Seongnam since elementary school, so I actually go to the countryside only for holidays. As a result, I used to indirectly see the topic of fat loss as something that was covered in the media.
Last week, I had to go to Gimcheon for some business at the Road and Urban Corporation. Even though I arrived at lunchtime on a Thursday, it was very quiet. It was a neighborhood called Yulgok-dong, and although it was a new city, it felt very neat and orderly, but it was strange because there were no people. There are a lot of apartments, a school, a shopping mall, a library, etc., but I don't know if it was the time when there were no people or if there really wasn't any floating population, but it was very peaceful, or rather quiet, even though it was around 12 o'clock.
Anyway, my interest naturally fell on the word fat loss, and both Korea, China, and Japan have similar problems. Among them, I recently watched a short documentary on population extinction that aired on NHK, and I thought it might be a hint to us in some way, so I'm leaving this summary.
Japan's fat loss crisis is not just a statistical warning; it is a social problem that can have a serious impact on current and future generations. According to the 'Population Strategy Council' chaired by the Japanese government, approximately 43% of Japan's more than 1,700 municipalities are likely to face extinction. This is mainly due to the decline in the young population, especially women in their 20s and 30s, who are essential to the economic activity of the community.
Some regions of Japan are trying a variety of creative responses to the problem of population decline. For example, Nagashima Village is encouraging young people to return to the village after studying through the 'Yellow Tail Student Loan' program, and Ohira Village is revitalizing the local economy and population by encouraging young families to move through strengthened childcare support. .
Metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka have been pointed out as 'black holes' and attract a young population, but their high cost of living and low birth rates are worsening the population problems in rural areas. This is giving rise to the problem of not being able to increase the birth rate while absorbing the local population.
In fact, this problem is well expressed in Korea as a phenomenon of concentration in the metropolitan area, and in Japan, each region is allowing the 2030 generation to live and engage in economic activities in the region by providing direct economic support or providing welfare to local governments. It seems like they are considering even inducing childbirth. In the case of Japan, it is said that if you go to live in a rural area, you will not go even if various financial support is provided, including settlement fees. (In response to this, former Interior Minister Hiroya Mitsuda said, “Success stories at the community level do little to solve the overall population problem.”)
For reference, in China, a policy is being implemented to force young people to stay in rural areas. (This is possible because it is China) In fact, we all know that moving out of the metropolitan area will lower housing prices by about 30% and provide various advantages, but we do not go to the provinces for various reasons such as friends, work, culture, and infrastructure. It's the same for me too. It may seem like Seoul is just moving in the direction of expanding more and more, but in fact, our government is also doing various things.
In fact, even a year or two ago, I had some hope that if working from home became routine, people would live more spaciously as the need for proximity to work would decrease, but it seems that working from home has not taken hold, and that does not mean that routes such as GTA, SRT, or KTX will be popular. I don't think this can be solved by pressing for a long time. I think it would be a way to make local governments or companies take root in local areas like Dongtan, Ulsan, Jinju, or Sejong and make them look like local pros, but I wonder who would go for it.
In fact, although we all understand the phenomenon and the cause, it seems like a problem we cannot solve because it is difficult to do it ourselves. Everyone knows how to solve it. Don't fight, don't compare, go down to the countryside, have a lot of kids, and live satisfied with what you lack... But do you really want to do this? If you say that, everyone says that's not the case... It's frustrating because I don't know whether to call this situation a state of cognitive dissonance where everyone knows the answer but can't put it into action, or the elephant in the room. The idea came to this point while watching the story of the nutritional group at Food University, but it would be difficult for me to put it into practice right away. I have a lot to think about.
The elephant in the room This expression is used metaphorically in a particular situation to refer to an obvious problem or uncomfortable truth that everyone is aware of but is reluctant to talk about. It is an expression mainly used to refer to a big, obvious problem that people want to ignore or avoid, but that ultimately needs to be solved.
