South Korea is making headlines as it balances its advanced technology with heavy reliance on fossil fuels—in 2025, about 60% (육십 퍼센트) of its energy still comes from coal and gas, while renewables (신재생에너지) make up only 9% (구 퍼센트).
This gap poses a barrier to its goal of carbon neutrality (탄소 중립) by 2050. Despite growing youth activism (청년 활동) demanding stronger climate action, regulatory hurdles and entrenched chaebol (재벌) interests slow progress. Experts urge faster coal phase-out and major expansion of offshore wind to align with international climate pledges.
Data from the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) shows that renewable energy capacity in South Korea has increased sixfold from 2013 to 2023, while actual generation delivered to consumers rose by around half, expanding just threefold.
Vocabulary
-탄소중립 (carbon neutrality) tanso-junglip
-신재생에너지 (renewable energy) sinjae-saeng-eneoji
-청정 수소 (clean hydrogen) cheong-jeong suso
-에너지 전환 (energy transition) eneoji jeonhwan
-전력망 (power grid) jeon-lyeok-mang
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