What is the ‘sandwich generation’ and why is ‘care’ its key defining characteristic? What are the different effects and responses to the digital generation in Australia and Korea? How are Australia and Korea addressing the needs arising from the pressing social issue of our time, the ageing of our populations? How might scholars, practitioners and students approach these diverse generational issues in a comparative context? You will find insightful responses to these and other questions in this book. Leading researchers in their fields such as national demography expert, Professor Peter McDonald, leading gerontology researcher, Professor Hal Kendig, childcare policy expert, Associate Professor Deborah Brennan and a number of Korean counterparts provide strong analytical discussions on key issues for the future of the two countries. Arising from a conference held in late 2005 that brought together key researchers across a number of disciplines, this edited collection draws together critical concerns of two countries that are experiencing extraordinary generational change. With support from the Australia Korea Foundation, this book has been produced as an important resource for anyone interested in how Australia's responses to generational change compare to Korea's engagement with very similar problems. It highlights similarities and diversities in experiences and responses within Australia and Korea and analyses the major social policy challenges in the present and for the future.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Don Stammer 1. Introduction: diverse histories and shared contemporary social issues – the Australian and Korean welfare states Ruth Phillips Social and demographic changes in Australia and Korea 2. Australian demographic prospects, 2004–2050 Peter McDonald 3. Demographic changes in Korea during the period of 1960–2000 Ik Ki Kim The digital generation and the social impact of new technologies 4. The impact of new technologies on the digital generation: a critical analysis and review of policy making in Australia Ali Mubarak 5. The digital generation and the social impact of new technologies: digital natives in Korea Heejin Lin, Gil-Soo Han and Sangjo Oh The sandwich generation 6. Generations of care: demographic change and public policy in Australia Deborah Brennan 7. Child care support programs for double income families in Korea Jeong-hee Kim The ageing population 8. Health, economic and policy implications of an ageing Australia Hal Kendig and Ruth Phillips 9. The health, economic, and policy implications of the ageing Korean society Eun-jeong Kang Conclusion 10. The wider context: some key implications of generational change in Asia Eugene Sebastian Author biographies Index