One thing Korea's been trying to figure out for a few decades now, is how to prepare for the time when a huge portion of the population are elderly.
There's a report out, though, saying already senior citizens are contributing around a fifth of the country's GDP.
Our Yoon Jung-min reports.
South Koreans over 55 years of age contributed over 256 billion U.S. dollars of economic value in 2014.
According to data by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs on Wednesday, the estimated economic value over-55s created through employment reached more than 151 billion dollars, with nearly half of over-55s working an average of more than two hours a day. Over-55s also contributed over 86-billion dollars of economic value in the form of household chores.
The total economic value created by over-55s amounted to nearly 20 percent of the total gross domestic product in 2014. And the value created by activities other than employment,... such as caregiving, volunteering and household chores,... was worth some eight percent of GDP.
South Korea is already an ageing society with some 14-point-3 percent of the population aged 65 or above.
As the society gets older, the overall productivity is deemed to decline, but this recent study shows the contribution that older generations still make to the economy.
Currently, the official retirement age is 65. However, with growing awareness of the productivity of seniors, the possibility of raising this age cap may again come up for debate.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.