[Opinion] "And Then There Were None"

"The Tragedy of I" is a Japanese mystery novel. It was recently published domestically. It intriguingly weaves social issues such as low birthrate, aging population, and regional extinction. An acquaintance mistakenly thought the "I" in the book title meant "child" (ai). Given that it deals with the low birthrate issue, that misunderstanding is understandable.

In fact, the "I" in the title refers to the "I-turn phenomenon." There are also "J-turn" and "U-turn." Pay attention to the shapes of the letters.

"I-turn" is the phenomenon where city natives who were born and raised in urban areas move to rural areas. The Japanese, who are excellent at coining new terms, started using this. "The Tragedy of I" deals with the story of a family who moved (I-turn) from the city to the disappearing rural city of Mino City. Mino City became a ruin due to a decrease in children (low birthrate), deaths among the elderly (aging), and regional extinction.

"U-turn" refers to people originally from rural areas who went to the city for work but return to their hometowns. As companies build factories in local areas, employment opportunities expand and wage levels improve, causing U-turns to stir. Of course, some may U-turn due to the harshness of city life.

"J-turn" can be considered an intermediate form. Rural natives who went to a big city for work return to rural areas but cannot go back to their hometowns and instead find jobs in small or medium-sized cities near the big city. Usually, this occurs when they want to escape the exhausting city life but there are few employment opportunities in their hometowns.

The Mino City in the novel is also another name for Korean regional cities facing extinction.

In 2021, the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designated and announced nationwide population decline areas (valid until 2026). These are cities, counties, and districts at risk of regional extinction. The designation was based on a population decline index using eight population indicators such as average annual population change rate, population density, daytime population, net youth migration rate, and aging ratio. Out of 229 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, 89 were designated. That is about 4 out of 10. Notably, 85 out of the 89 are non-metropolitan areas.

Among serious countermeasures against regional extinction, "I-turn" has recently gained attention. It is mostly led by young people and shows an increasing trend (*spoiler alert: the "I-turn project" in the novel's Mino City ultimately ends in failure. The side leading the project’s failure believes that pouring finances into a small number of migrants is economically inefficient and eventually achieves their goal). Of course, "J-turn" and "U-turn" are also warmly welcomed.

Now, most experts do not hesitate to point to work-family balance and decentralization of the metropolitan area as countermeasures against Korea's low birthrate. They say it is necessary to create workplace conditions favorable for having and raising children and to change the social atmosphere that discourages childbirth due to competition. The realization of the latter process is I-turn, J-turn, and U-turn.

Some experts emphasize adaptation strategies to low birthrate rather than countermeasures. Since raising the birthrate is realistically difficult, they argue that prioritizing adaptation to a shrinking society through utilizing women and the elderly, immigration, and AI introduction is necessary.

Korea’s population decline rate and speed are too steep. It is right to both respond and adapt. The first and last chapters of "The Tragedy of I" share the same final sentence. Its dryness makes it even more chilling: "And then there were none."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.