Introduction to South Korea

South Korea is a nation located in the peninsula in the northeast region of the Asian continent. Its population is 51.6 million people1 and it is about 19% rural.2 Inequality persists in South Korea, as the lowest 20% in terms of income only account for 7.5% of total income within the population. South Korea is a primarily monsoon-influenced country with its coastal regions consisting of a humid tropical climate and central regions made up of a hot-summer humid continental climate. In terms of its GDP composition, 2.2% is accounted for by agriculture, 39.3% by industry, and 58.3% by the services sector.3 In the 1970s, South Korea experienced high economic growth as it transitioned from an industrially-centered economy to a secondary or tertiary-centered economy. However, even as South Korea has decreased its dependence on manufacturing and exportation, South Korea is still a primarily export-based economy–manufacturing takes up 29% of GDP and 35.6% of the population remains dependent on exports.4 The country mainly exports electronic and electrical hardware (31% of all exports), nuclear equipment, boilers, and machinery (12% of total exports), and automobiles or vehicle equipment (10%). Of its imports, 19% is made up of electrical and electronic equipment and 22% is accounted for by raw materials such as oil, minerals, and distillation products.5 South Korea is also highly dependent on its international trade partners, with China accounting for 26% of its exports and the USA accounting for 16% of its exports.3 As a result of South Korea’s mainly manufacturing and export-based economy, dependent on trade with a few international partners, South Korea remains vulnerable to  price shocks and other economic and geopolitical volatility that will be exacerbated under the climate crisis.

Mapping Major Climate Events and Climate-Induced Displacement

South Korea ranks 156 out of 191 countries in terms of climate vulnerability. However, in terms of hazard and exposure, South Korea ranks 59 out of 191 countries.6 Contributing to this high climate vulnerability is the fact that South Korea is one of the planet’s most population dense countries, only behind Bangladesh and Taiwan, with a population density of 515 people per km2.7 In terms of climate-related disasters, these events have only increased in frequency and intensity. For example, between 2008 to 2014, 17 disaster events were reported that were associated with 9,800 internal displacements, and between 2015 to 2022, South Korea experienced an increased amount of 43 climate-related disasters that led to over 71,000 internal displacements. Overall, there has been 81,000 total internal displacements due to climate-related disasters between 2008 and 2022, with the most common natural disasters including flooding, wildfires, storms, and extreme temperature events.8 For example, in March of 2022, South Korea experienced severe droughts leading to extreme wildfires in the coastal regions of Uljin and Samcheok that destroyed more than 300 homes, charred 17,000 ha of land, and led to over 7,000 individuals being forced to evacuate.9 In the same year, Typhoon Hinnamnor hit South Korea and triggered record flooding and torrential rainfall, especially in rural regions such as the North Gyeongsang Province, that led to 160 buildings damaged, 1,320 ha of crops destroyed, 3,000 individuals displaced from evacuations, and 60,000 households left without electricity.10 According to the Korean Meteorological Association, 2022 was linked with the heaviest rainfall in 8 decades.11

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

South Korea currently has a GDP of $1.67 trillion USD.12 Yet, the climate crisis has resulted in severe economic losses across the country. Between 2007 to 2016, natural disasters resulted in a loss of $5.7 billion USD and 162 casualties,13 and natural disasters continue to burden the economy. For example, due to heavy rainfall and typhoons, 2020 resulted in a 982 million USD loss in property damage and 46 casualties. This is triple the amount of the national average for economic losses from natural disasters which has been a loss of 388.8 million and 14 lives per year.14 Overall, it’s expected that climate-related impacts will result in an annual loss of 0.4% of GDP by 2050,15 and a maximum annual cost of $20.9 billion USD through 2060.16

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

South Korea currently contributes 1.66% of global CO2 emissions.17 As a result of South Korea’s exponential economic growth in recent decades, this has led to an increase in energy demand by 55% since 2000 and rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that have now made South Korea the 11th highest GHG emitter on the planet.15 As a result, South Korea has committed to reducing its emissions by 40% by 2030 under the Business as Usual scenario of the Paris Agreement. This includes investment in shifting power generation of coal power plants to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and investment in renewable energy expansion. South Korea is also targeting emissions-heavy sectors such as steelmaking, petrochemicals, and cement industries to move to utilizing electric furnaces, bionaphtha instead of naphtha for feedstock in petrochemical production, and expansion of other energy-saving technologies. Within the agricultural, livestock, and fisheries sectors, South Korea has also made progress to energy-saving, low carbon solutions such as improving irrigation techniques in rice paddy farming, low-input systems for nitrogen fertilization, strategies to reduce methane emissions in livestock sectors, and much more. Within adaptation strategies, South Korea is working to implement plans to manage 84 unique kinds of climate risks in sectors including water management, ecosystems, national land and coastal areas, agriculture and fisheries, health, and industry and energy. In terms of climate migration, South Korea is also investing in strengthening forecasting and monitoring tools for meteorological, ocean, and environmental monitoring to reduce climate vulnerability and improve upon information-sharing to the public.18 South Korea has also implemented the Employment Permit System (EPS) to support foreign labor migration into South Korea utilizing temporary legal status and permits. The country has signed 16 MOUs to allow temporary migration from countries including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.19 South Korea has also taken steps to set up an inclusive governmental system including the Citizens Evaluation Group that is composed of individuals of all levels and backgrounds to evaluate adaptation plans and support especially climate vulnerable groups.12

Necessary Changes

South Korea has already made significant commitments to reduce its emissions, contribute energy-efficient solutions to its agricultural and fisheries sectors, address 84 identified climate risks, improve climate and forecasting monitoring systems, support foreign labor migration networks, and implement inclusive government systems to support vulnerable communities. However, it is necessary for the international community to support South Korea in a just transition in terms of an decrease of external pressures on South Korea’s high emission manufacturing sectors. This also includes promoting debt alleviation, as 39.8% of South Korea’s GDP is accounted for by external debt in 2022,20 and total private debt accounts for 281.73% of GDP.21 A promotion of debt alleviation can support the government and individual households’ ability to achieve climate mitigation strategies and better adapt to climate-related events. While working towards its current policies to further democratize its economic policies, South Korea must also take further steps to support a reduction of emissions and a just transition, especially for vulnerable communities. As South Korea is a primarily an export-based economy, this includes implementing more low-emission strategies to its high carbon footprint manufacturing industries. Through intentional support of both the international community and South Korea’s national plans for climate mitigation and adaptation, a just transition for all those involved becomes achievable.