Trend Global megatrends converge and interlock into a polycrisis

Summary

Megatrends identified by major domestic and international institutions converge on climate change, technological innovation, demographic change, geopolitical fragmentation and social polarisation. The report reads this convergence as the product of structural changes unfolding simultaneously across the planet. These forces do not act in isolation but interlock into a polycrisis. Forecasting and policy therefore need a systemic approach that accounts for interactions and synergies between trends rather than a piecemeal treatment of each one. Because Korea's distinctive structural traits can amplify or distort how global megatrends play out, the report calls for a parallel approach grounded in the Korean context.