Introduction: Population ageing and income security thomas r. klassen and jae-jin yang

The history of modern welfare states generally begins with public provisions for those who are ‘old and possibly alone in a wage labour economy’ (Finer 2000: 17). In South Korea (henceforth Korea), the restructuring of an income security system for the elderly is underway due to a dramatically ageing population. Although this is not unique to Korea, the rapidity of ageing and associated political and policy responses, as well as larger cultural shifts are unprecedented, even in comparison to other East Asian nations (Choi 2008).