Korea is on course to have the world’s oldest population by 2060, overtaking Japan. The projection is more than a demographic curiosity. It is a warning that one of the world’s most advanced economies is approaching an unprecedented test of its pension, health care, labor and fiscal systems. According to a 2025 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of Korea’s population aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 20.3 percent last year to 41 percent in 2060, the highest in the world. The proportion aged 80 and above is expected to nearly quadruple, from 4.8 percent to 18.3 percent. Even more striking, the old-age dependency ratio is projected to jump from 29.5 elderly people for every 100 working-age adults to 81.6. In practical terms, fewer than two workers will be supporting each older person. This is not simply a welfare challenge. It threatens economic growth itself. The era in which a large working-age population provided a demographic dividend is ending. Korea is entering an era of demographic drag, in which a shrinking labor force, rising dependency and growing dema