Population Growth In South Korea

The population of South Korea showed robust growth since the republic's establishment in 1948, and then dramatically slowed down with the effects of its economic growth. In the first official census, taken in 1949, the total population of South Korea was calculated at 20,188,641 people. The 1985 census total was 40,466,577. Population growth was slow, averaging about 1.1% annually during the period from 1949 to 1955, when the population registered at 21.5 million. Growth accelerated between 1955 and 1966 to 29.2 million or an annual average of 2.8%, but declined significantly during the period 1966 to 1985 to an annual average of 1.7%. Thereafter, the annual average growth rate was estimated to be less than 1%, similar to the low growth rates

As of January 1, 1989, the population of South Korea was estimated to be approximately 42.2 million. Although South Korea has historically been growing at a steady rate, since the 2000s, South Korea has been struggling with a low birthrate, leading some studies to suggest that if current population trends hold, the country's population will be extinct by the year 2750. This decline in population growth rate can be attributed to the success of both federal and state birth control and awareness programs that President Syngman Rhee (1948-1960) enacted.

Although the Christian churches were set on starting a family planning movement supported by the overwhelming amount of Christians in South Korea in 1957, it wasn’t until 1962 that Park Chung Hee, brought to light that this program instead of achieving the intended positives that would come with the rapidly increasing population was that it would actually undermine economic growth. This was when the nationwide family planning program came into effect. Their activities included distribution of free birth control devices and information, classes for women on family planning methods, and the granting of special subsidies and privileges (such as low-interest housing loans) to parents who agreed to undergo sterilization.

The two countries are technically still at war, having signed an armistice ending the Korean War in 1953 but not a peace treaty. North Korea's 2008 Census counted a population of 24.1 million. South Korea's 2010 estimate, in comparison, is 48.9 million. North Korea's area is 46,720 sq. miles, about the same size as Cuba (with a population of 11.2 million) or the U.S. state of Pennsylvania (12.6 million). South Korea's somewhat smaller area of 38,580 sq. miles is about the same as the Netherlands (16.6 million) or the U.S. state of Indiana (6.4 million) but its population gives it a density of 1,267 persons per sq. mile, one of the world's highest. Both of these graphs are clearly set up towards a decline in population growth. North Korea is the one that I think will suffer the most earlier. With the increasing nuclear tensions between the United States, they may see a decline in their population even earlier than expected. The fact that these two countries are next to each other make them related geographically which means that nuclear warfare in Pyongyang can also affect major cities like Seoul where a very large majority of South Korea’s population is. With the raising tensions this can also lead to larger levels of immigration from South Korea due to the fear of a nuclear war nearby. These two groups are at a armistice which could mean that anytime these two could end up fighting and