In a situation where the population is rapidly decreasing, what options can be taken to maintain the survival of the country? Immigration is often mentioned as an easy option. Immigration, in its simplest definition, is the movement of people from one place or country to another. It is a simple yet fundamental aspect of human history.
The rate of international migration crossing borders is increasing every year, which has a profound impact on a country’s population size, cultural diversity, and economic productivity. Today, the constant influx of settlers and refugees around the world raises important questions. What exactly causes immigration? Economic reasons are probably paramount. However, I believe that finding reasons for immigration is not a matter of legal discourse, so I think it would be better to focus on the impact of immigration.
Liberal democracy was originally a concept that reflected the will of the people, relieved the weak, and realized social justice by replacing the autocratic system. However, in the modern political system, this political ideology’s pursuit of freedom and relief for the weak have weakened. This is considered to be the cause of chaos in the world of liberal democracy. In order to suppress chauvinism, it is essential to first rescue the internally weak. Wealth redistribution and relief for the vulnerable and social minorities are needed. Without improvements in these macro indicators, population growth will not be easy.
Long ago, nomads traveled far and wide to find fresh, fertile land, pastures for their livestock, and rich areas for hunting and fishing. Even in modern times, immigration still continues around the world. The demographic composition of people crossing borders has changed significantly over the past decade. This can be attributed to a wide range of factors that we can categorize into two groups: push factors and pull factors. Examining these factors is essential to fully understand why global migration has increased over the years.
Above all, what the international community must do is to correct the development gap between developed and developing countries, and especially to strengthen support for ‘vulnerable countries’ or ‘countries in conflict’ that cannot provide fair and sufficient services to their citizens. Korea should also respond to this global trend and make policy choices to strengthen support for vulnerable countries or countries in conflict. One of the ways to do this is the issue of immigration and refugees.
It is hasty to suggest immigration as an alternative to population decline without raising any issues. Common factors driving migration include armed conflict, exposure to disaster, gender inequality, lack of employment opportunities, political corruption, and lack of access to competent healthcare and education. Simply put, it is a negative reason that causes an individual to leave his or her country of residence. On the other hand, inflow factors are the exact opposite of migration factors. Accepting immigration can lead to serious and unexpected side effects, so a multifaceted debate is needed. In this paper, I examine cases of land ownership and territorial jurisdiction infringement as cases where our sovereignty is violated by foreigners.