Tracking 60 Minutes Episode 1379 《Low Birth Rate Crisis Response Project》 Local Extinction, No Safe Zone Broadcast on Friday, September 6, 2024 In the second quarter of 2024, South Korea's total fertility rate recorded 0.71. And the overall population has also been on a downward trend since 2021. Experts say that South Korea is currently heading toward an unprecedented population extinction. Now that the entire country of South Korea is experiencing a population extinction crisis, local areas are the first to feel the population decline. 《Tracking 60 Minutes》 visited the sites of local extinction crises with KBS's 《Low Birth Rate Crisis Response Project》 to find out what the current situation is for local small and medium-sized cities that are concerned about population extinction due to an aging population and youth population outflow. ■ The reality of local extinction, the threatened right of residents to move As the population decreases and the floating population decreases, local bus terminals are unable to avoid deficits. Bus terminal in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do. The number of daily users of this terminal in 2023 will be 178, a 35% decrease from 2018. Due to continued accumulated deficits, the bus terminal company is considering closing down. However, residents and the elderly who use Yeongwol Bus Terminal say that the bus terminal is absolutely necessary. “Thanks to the bus, we can go to hospitals in nearby cities and go to the market. If the bus terminal disappears, how will elderly people like us get around?” - Interview with a Yeongwol resident Not only in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do, but also in some areas of Gyeonggi-do, there are many bus terminals that are closing due to deficits. As of June of this year, 36 bus terminals have closed due to worsening management since 2018, and currently, only 283 terminals (including 49 public terminals) remain. The rapid population decline is threatening the right to mobility of local residents. ■ South Korea's second capital, Busan, is in danger Kim Eun-hee (57), who worked at a large mart in Busan for 20 years, is now unable to work due to the sudden decision to close the store in 2022. She currently commutes to another store 40 minutes away by bus, and says that although she wants to change jobs, it is not easy to find a new job in Busan. "After my eldest child graduated from college in Busan, he said that it was really hard to find a proper job. My younger child, who saw that situation, went to college in Seoul." - From an interview with Kim Eun-hee, an employee at a large mart In fact, Busan's economic activity participation rate in 2023 was 59.6%, and its employment rate was 57.7%, the lowest among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces. In particular, most young people who have just entered society say that there are no companies worth going to in Busan, and in fact, among the top 100 companies in the country in terms of sales, there is not a single large company in Busan. Since there are not many companies in new business fields such as ICT, many young people in Busan are said to be leaving for the metropolitan area or other regions in search of jobs. Experts say that quality jobs are essential to prevent the outflow of young people. ■ People gather where there are jobs! The population of Taebaek City in Gangwon Province, which grew mainly due to the coal industry, exceeded 120,000 in 1987. However, when coal mines were closed in earnest due to the rationalization of the coal industry in 1987, Taebaek City’s economy and population suffered a major blow. As the city’s population has decreased to 38,000, Taebaek City has even attracted prisons that other regions avoided in order to prevent the rapid population decline. “There used to be so many people… but now that everyone has left, only our elderly people are left. I don’t care if it’s a prison, but I like people coming in. I wish more people would come in.” - Interview with a merchant in Jangseong-dong, Taebaek City At a time when most local areas are concerned about population outflow, the population of Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province has recently increased significantly. The population, which was 180,000 in 2000, currently stands at 950,000. Experts say that the creation of quality jobs through the attraction of various industrial complexes such as 'Dongtan Techno Valley' is a factor in the population increase in Hwaseong City. As of 2022, there are approximately 50,000 businesses in Hwaseong, and there are 10 large-scale businesses with more than 1,000 employees. The young people that 'Tracking 60 Minutes' met in Hwaseong said that they settled in Hwaseong in search of good jobs. "My home is Daegu, but I came to Hwaseong in search of a high-paying job. Actually, if there were jobs like this in Daegu, I don't think I would have come to a place where I have no connections." - Interview with Park Jin-young (32), an engineering employee ■ Annual 1 t