Mid-career professionals in their 50s startled by looming retirement and sense of aging

Many male and female office workers in their mid-50s do not realize they have passed this age, and are often caught off guard when they see their immediate superiors retire, prompting them to recognize their own age. In the past, younger generations in their 20s would support middle-aged generations through production, but this structure has been severed due to population decline and employment difficulties. It is reported that the 40s and 50s generations today have built industries through their own efforts and led Korea's economic development, and are a generation wealthier than their parents, wealthier than their children, and more educated.

They say they worry about a difficult retirement if they haven't saved enough money. Many people over their mid-50s find it difficult to continue working, even if they want to, because there are few people willing to hire them. Despite having many aspirations based on their life experience, networks, and knowledge, they feel powerless as work goes to younger generations. This situation is explained in psychology as a fear or anxiety associated with the end of one's 'social shelf life'.

If economic issues were once an anxiety about survival, now an anxiety about existence itself is gripping middle age. They feel they have lived diligently but are being treated as useless by society, experiencing psychological isolation. When their name card disappears, the thought 'no one is looking for me' leads to an identity crisis. This is similar to the confusion experienced during adolescence, but the confusion of being in one's 50s arrives when they lack the physical strength, financial余裕 (leeway/reserve), and psychological resilience to overcome it. In fact, the highest number of people seeking hospital treatment for panic disorder is observed in those from their mid-40s to early-to-mid 50s.