100세 시대 도래에 따른 농어촌 대응방안

Abstract

‘100세 시대’란 평균수명이 100세가 된다기보다는 최빈사망연령(가장 많은 사람이 사망하는 연령대)이 90대로 높아져 점차 100세 이상의 생존자가 크게 늘어나는 현상을 지칭하는 말이다. 국무총리실 산하 ‘경제·인문사회연구회’에서 주최한 토론회의 발제 자료에 따르면, 우리나라는 2020년에 최빈사망연령이 90세를 넘어서게 되어 100세 시대에 이를 전망이다. 그 동안 먼 훗날 미래로만 여겨지던 ‘100세 시대’가 이제 우리들의 현실로 다가오고 있다. 그러나 이렇게 100세 시대가 우리들의 눈앞에 다가오고 있음에도 불구하고 이에 따른 정책적 대응은 크게 부족하다. 아직 우리사회의 모든 시스템과 국민의식은 80세 시대에 머물고 있다. 연금, 교육, 복지는 물론이고 취업, 정년제도, 그리고 개인의 재무 설계와 인생플랜이 모두 ‘60세에 은퇴하여 80세까지 사는 것’을 전제로 짜여 있다. 그리하여 이 연구에서는 농어촌주민의 100세 시대 대비 실태를 조사하고, 국내·외의 관련 정책을 검토하여, 100세 시대 도래에 따른 농어촌의 대응방안을 제시하였다.

Background of Research The purpose of this study is 1) to investigate the current provision situation for 100 years-old time of rural residents, 2) to identify the socioeconomic impacts of arrival of 100 years-old time, 3) to investigate the current conditions and problems of related policies, and 4) to suggest rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time.

Method of Research Research methods include collection of existing related data, re-analysis of previous data, field survey, analysis of foreign cases, and so on. Existing related data were collected from the related research institutes and governmental organizations. The field survey was conducted among 500 rural residents. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentage were used to organize and summarize the data.

Research Results and Implications Rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time were classified into 7 fields: health and medical service, income and consumption, job, leisure and cultural activities, child-care and education, and housing. In the aspect of health and medical service, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) construction of regular resident health control system, 2) introduction of special health checkup system for farmers and fishermen, and 3) reinforcement of meal service and nutrition improvement programs. In the aspect of income and consumption, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) improvement of national pension system for farmers and fishermen, and 2) improvement of farmland pension. In the aspect of job, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) support of the elderly-friendly farming, and 2) rearing of rural community business. In the aspect of leisure and cultural activities, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) management activation of rural leisure facilities for the elderly, and 2) reinforcement of culture and art education in rural schools. In the aspect of child-care and education, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) expansion of rural experience education for elementary and middle school students, and 2) life design education for the elderly. In the aspect of housing, rural policy tasks to confront the arrival of 100 years-old time are as follows: 1) nationwide expansion of group home tasks utilizing the elderly hall, village hall, and so on, and 2) systematization of 'back-to-earth' support.

Researchers: Dae-Shik Park, Sang-Jin Ma, Kang-Ho Kim, Seung-He Rhu Research Period : 2011. 9 ~ 2011. 12 E-mail Address: pds8382@krei.re.kr