In this blog post, we imagine the future society that will emerge from the extreme extension of human lifespan, examine how “happiness” might be redefined in an era where death is a choice, and delve deeply into how immortality will transform human existence.
During the Roman Empire, the average life expectancy was approximately 25 years. This figure has steadily increased over time, reaching an average of about 73.5 years as of 2025. Over the course of the 20th century, average life expectancy more than tripled, and the growth curve is nonlinear. As time goes on, the rate of increase is becoming increasingly steep. Now, humanity has begun discussing an era that goes beyond simple growth—an era in which the curve of average life expectancy could be pulled vertically upward. In his book *Sapiens*, Yuval Harari suggested that advances in science and technology could bring humans closer to the possibility of immortality. If South Koreans were to actually face such an era at some point in the future, would they be happier than they are today?
We can surmise that people living about 2,000 years ago experienced the loss of loved ones far more frequently than South Koreans do today. High infant mortality rates, repeated wars of varying scales, minor disputes and unexpected accidents, and above all, the limited medical capabilities of the time reduced average life expectancy to around twenty-five years. It is hard to deny that an untimely death is a tragedy. However, the death of a loved one may also have served to bind the survivors together more strongly. Or perhaps it helped them view the various problems of daily life as less significant. For these reasons, South Koreans living today cannot simply look upon the people of that era with pity. Rather, it is possible that they were more resilient, honorable, and, at times, happier than we are today.
In contrast, the lives of today’s South Koreans have become much longer, society has grown correspondingly more complex, and the number of problems to be solved has increased. Individuals must invest a period of time equivalent to the average lifespan during the Roman Empire to acquire the capabilities demanded by society. Even fulfilling one’s full share of responsibilities is becoming increasingly difficult. As life spans lengthen, the number of characters in the story grows, and new events and conflicts arise ceaselessly. Now, South Koreans are living in an era that has recorded the highest resource consumption in human history, and they find themselves in a situation where they must even worry about the global environment that sustains this massive consumption.
Of course, one cannot claim that the present is unhappier than the past based solely on these changes. This is a long-term trend that transcends a binary judgment of happiness and unhappiness, as each era has entirely different conditions. However, because life in each era is so vastly different, it is difficult to clearly define what constitutes happiness or to determine whether the people living in that moment are actually happy. In very ancient times—for instance, when there was not even a system that could be called language—it is possible that simply securing a daily meal was enough to evoke a sense of happiness. It would have been enough simply to find a suitable cave to shelter from the wind and rain, or to discover that edible fruits were abundant near the cave, thereby reducing the effort required for survival for the time being. Of course, there are still people who remain at this fundamental stage of survival, but in many regions today, including South Korea, the majority of people have enough food to avoid starvation and a roof to shelter from the rain.
However, this does not mean that all of these people are happy. Some feel unhappy because they cannot eat more delicious food, others because they do not own a larger, more impressive house, and still others because they worry about making ends meet next month. These people no longer feel happy simply because they haven’t gone a day without a meal or because they can shelter from the wind and rain. For them to be happy, much greater effort is required. In our complex, intertwined modern society, they must constantly compete and struggle to meet rising educational standards and higher expectations for satisfaction. Civilization transformed humans long ago into beings who cannot find happiness in mere survival alone.
So, if science and technology were to advance far beyond their current state, allowing South Koreans to maintain the physical condition of their prime for a long time and live as long as they wish—for a hundred or even a thousand years—and if, when they no longer wish to continue living, they could end their lives in a relatively simple manner, much like pressing a button to shut down a system, could we say that South Koreans in that era would be happier than they are now? The first thing that comes to mind is the expectation that in such an era, people would have access to tastier food and larger, more beautiful homes than they do today. At the very least, there would be no need to endlessly race to keep up while maintaining a body that ages every day, as we do today. With ample time at their disposal, people could adopt a more relaxed mindset and engage in more activities and productivity; at first glance, it seems as though everyone would be happy.
However, just as civilization transformed humans into beings who cannot be happy through mere survival, eternal life has the potential to change us in yet another way. If we become beings for whom tastier food and finer homes no longer guarantee happiness, what will fill that void? And if we must bear an even greater burden than we do now to obtain that new thing, will the people of South Korea be able to handle it? It took far more effort to eat delicious food than it did to eat simply to survive. If so, to what extent must the world be processed and reproduced to satisfy humans who live forever? It is not easy to gauge this.
Moreover, in a world of eternal life, every death ultimately takes the form of suicide. Even the primal fear that once came from the unknowable beyond is now placed in one’s own hands, creating the burden of having to choose it oneself. Could suicide still be considered a religious sin in that era? Would life still be regarded as valuable in a world where the fountain of life flows inexhaustibly? If death no longer comes naturally, and one must take steps to meet it oneself, how many people would willingly head toward a place where they have no idea what awaits them? As a result, there may be people who, unable to experience anything new, live on by inertia without being able to die, and others who simply maintain a state of endless existence out of fear of death. This could be an extreme insult to human existence itself and might become the seed of a new kind of misery. What truly extraordinary thing must be granted for a person who must live despite having no will to do so to feel happiness? And if such an extraordinary thing were provided, how much meaning could that happiness hold? Perhaps future humans, just as the citizens of modern South Korea strive ceaselessly to believe that they all exist as free individuals, will also have to become philosophers in order to sustain themselves.
South Koreans living today lead lives in ways that people of prehistoric times could not even imagine, and amidst all this, some are undoubtedly happy. Yet, South Koreans find themselves asking again whether they are truly happier than people of the past. The future world brought about by eternal life will likely not be much different. Even if South Koreans do not personally experience that world, they will not be able to stop the massive tide flowing toward it. This is because, although there have been those who have sounded warnings about rapid development up to now, the engine has never once stopped. People living in the future will likely live in ways that South Koreans cannot even imagine, and within that world, someone will surely be happy. And won’t they, too, ask themselves whether they are truly happier than the South Koreans of today?
