– Bilingual Lyrics Korean/English

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

They say no one can beat time, but it’s all about how you manage it.

It seems to depend on the individual.

With improvements in quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, and exercising, there’s research showing that people can work healthily for more than two years beyond the current retirement age of 60.

정년인 60세보다 2년 이상 더 건강하게 일할 수

A study has found this to be the case.

This is Park Kwang-sik, a medical correspondent.

A man in his late 50s who has worked at a university hospital for nearly 30 years.

He is a man in his late 50s.

He often meets with retired seniors, and now it’s no longer someone else’s concern.

It’s becoming a personal matter.

More than 90% of retired seniors seem to have a strong desire to work.

In my case, I think I could happily work until I’m 70.

I believe I could work happily until I’m 70.

Couldn’t I?

A research team from Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital tracked 40,000 adults for 15 years.

They found that for men, the period of working without illness, known as ‘healthy working life expectancy,’ was 14.9 years starting from age 50.

This period, known as ‘healthy working life expectancy,’ was 14.9 years.

This is nearly five years longer than the current retirement age of 60.

This means they can work healthily for almost five years longer.

This is due to improvements in lifestyle habits like quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, and exercising, as well as advancements in medical technology and better access to healthcare.

금연과 절주, 운동 등 생활 습관이 개선되고, 의료

It’s analyzed that these factors contribute to the increase.

If we only think about health, in the past, when health declined, people would retire and then manage their health in their later years until they passed away.

That was the norm.

But now, things have completely changed. Being forced to leave is extremely wasteful.

It’s a huge loss.

For women, when applying healthy working life expectancy starting from age 50, it was similar to the current retirement age.

It’s quite wasteful.

On average, both men and women can work 2.2 years longer than the current retirement age.

It was comparable to the current retirement age.

On average, both men and women can work 2.2 years longer.

Women’s healthy working life expectancy is relatively shorter than men’s, likely due to factors like family caregiving and career interruptions that lead them to leave the workforce.

This is the analysis.

This 70-year-old man retired during the IMF financial crisis, worked as a taxi driver, and then switched to freight transportation.

He has been working healthily until now.

After retiring during the IMF crisis, even though he could have continued, he was forced out of the company, which is quite unfortunate.

He has been working healthily ever since.

As a self-employed individual, as long as my health allows, I can work hard, so we don’t have a set retirement age.

I was forced out, which is really unfortunate.

As a self-employed person, I can work as long as my health permits.

We don’t have a retirement age.

In our country’s labor market, the average age of first retirement is 49, but the actual retirement age is 68, showing a dual structure.

There’s no retirement age for us.

It’s a dual system.

It’s common in super-aged societies for skilled workers to retire and then work in other jobs like security or delivery.

This is a common sight.

Experts emphasize that, alongside social discussions about extending the retirement age, the government and companies should also prepare support measures to protect workers’ health.

This is a typical scene in super-aged societies.

Experts stress the need for both social discussions and supportive measures.

They emphasize the importance of government and corporate support.

This is Park Kwang-sik from KBS News.

They urge the government and companies to take action.

This is KBS News, Park Kwang-sik reporting.

KBS News, Park Kwang-sik here.

[Korean]

세월 앞에 장사 없다고 하지만 이것도 다 관리하기

나름인 듯 합니다.

금연과 절주, 운동 생활 습관이 개선되면서 현재

정년인 60세보다 2년 이상 더 건강하게 일할 수

있다는 연구 결과가 나왔습니다.

박광식 의학전문기잡니다.

대학병원에서 30년 가까이 근무한 50대 후반

남성입니다.

정년퇴직한 선배들을 종종 만나는데, 이젠 더

이상 남의 일이 아닙니다.

한 90% 이상 퇴직하신 선배님들이 일에 관한

열망이 굉장히 큰 것 같습니다. 저 같은 경우만

해도 칠십까지는 즐겁게 행복하게 일을 할 수 있지

않을까?

서울성모병원 연구팀이 성인 4만 명을 15년

동안 추적 관찰한 결과 남성은 50세를 기준으로

아프지 않고 일한 기간, 이른바

'건강노동수명'이 14.9년이었습니다.

현재 정년인 60세보다 5년 가까이 더 오래

건강하게 일하는 셈입니다.

금연과 절주, 운동 등 생활 습관이 개선되고, 의료

기술과 병원 접근성도 향상됐기 때문으로

분석됩니다.

건강만 생각하면 예전에는 건강이 안

좋아졌으니까 은퇴할 때가 되셔서 은퇴하셔서

노후에 뭐 건강 관리하시다가 돌아가시는 이런

시대였는데, 이제는 완전히 달라졌잖아요. 그냥

나가라 그러는 거는 엄청 소모적인 거죠.

여성의 경우엔 50세 기준으로 건강노동수명을

적용하면 현재 정년과 비슷했습니다.

남녀 평균으로 보면 현재 정년보다 2.2년 더

많았습니다.

여성이 가족 간병이나 경력 단절 등으로

노동시장에서 이탈하면서 건강노동수명이

남성에 비해 상대적으로 짧은 걸로 분석됩니다.

이 70대 남성은 IMF 외환 위기 때 퇴직한 뒤

택시 기사로 일하다 화물운송으로 업종을 전환해

지금까지 건강하게 일을 하고 있습니다.

퇴직을 하고요. IMF 때. 더 해도 되는데도

불구하고 회사에서 내쫓는 거고, 참 안타깝고,

저는 개인사업자로서 건강이 허락할 때까지는 뭐

열심히 일하면 되는 거니까요. 저희는

정년이라는 게 없습니다.

우리나라 노동 시장은 1차 은퇴 평균 나이가

49세지만 실질 은퇴 나이는 68세로 이중적인

구좁니다.

숙련된 인력이 은퇴 후 경비나 배달 등 다른

직종에서 일하는 것도 초고령사회의 흔한

모습입니다.

전문가들은 정년 연장에 대한 사회적 논의뿐

아니라 정부와 기업이 근로자의 건강을 지킬 수

있는 지원책도 함께 마련해야 한다고

강조합니다.

KBS 뉴스 박광식입니다.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
세월 sewol TOPIK Level 1	noun - the passage of time
장사 jangsah TOPIK Level 2	noun - strong person
금연 geumyeon TOPIK Level 2	noun - quitting smoking
절주 jeolju TOPIK Level 3	noun - moderation in drinking alcohol
정년 jeongnyeon TOPIK Level 2	noun - retirement age
건강 geongang TOPIK Level 1	noun - health
노동 nodong TOPIK Level 2	noun - labor
수명 sumyeong TOPIK Level 2	noun - lifespan
은퇴 euntoe TOPIK Level 2	noun - retirement
경력 gyeongnyeok TOPIK Level 3	noun - career experience
단절 danjeol TOPIK Level 3	noun - disconnection
전환 jeonhwan TOPIK Level 3	noun - transition
숙련 sungnyeon TOPIK Level 4	noun - skillfulness
초고령사회 chogoryeongsahoe TOPIK Level 5	noun - super-aged society
강조 gangjo TOPIK Level 3	verb - to emphasize

Key Grammar Structures

• 세월 앞에 장사 없다고 하지만 이것도 다 관리하기 나름인 듯 합니다.

  ➔ Conditional clause with 'although' and 'seemingly'

  ➔ The sentence acknowledges the inevitability of time passing but suggests that health is also manageable. The phrase '관리하기 나름인 듯 합니다' (it seems to depend on how you manage it) uses the '-듯 합니다' ending to express a tentative assumption.

• 금연과 절주, 운동 생활 습관이 개선되면서 현재 정년인 60세보다 2년 이상 더 건강하게 일할 수 있다는 연구 결과가 나왔습니다.

  ➔ '-면서' clause indicating simultaneous action and conditional result.

  ➔ The sentence shows a causal relationship: improving lifestyle habits (quitting smoking, moderating alcohol, exercising) *while* doing so leads to the possibility of working healthily for more than 2 years beyond the current retirement age of 60. The '-면서' construction connects the actions and the result.

• 여성이 가족 간병이나 경력 단절 등으로 노동시장에서 이탈하면서 건강노동수명이 남성에 비해 상대적으로 짧은 걸로 분석됩니다.

  ➔ '-면서' clause indicating reason/cause and resulting state.

  ➔ This sentence explains *why* women's healthy working lifespan is shorter than men's. The '-면서' clause indicates that women leaving the labor market due to family caregiving or career interruptions *leads to* a shorter healthy working lifespan.

• 우리나라 노동 시장은 1차 은퇴 평균 나이가 49세지만 실질 은퇴 나이는 68세로 이중적인 구조입니다.

  ➔ Contrastive structure using 'but' (지만) and descriptive adjective '이중적인' (dual/double).

  ➔ The sentence highlights a paradox in the Korean labor market: the average age of first retirement is 49, but people actually continue working until 68. The adjective '이중적인 구조' (dual structure) emphasizes this contradiction.