[In Focus] What Happens When You Have a Baby in South Korea Now?

Ham Hyeri / Journalist · Cultural Critic

The answer to ‘what’ is twofold: either ‘fool’ or ‘patriot.’

It may sound like a joke, but this is the conclusion reached by the renowned animal behaviorist Professor Choi Jae-cheon, and I believe many people will agree. According to Professor Choi, from the perspective of today’s young people, considering the costs involved in getting married and raising children, no matter how you calculate it, having children is by no means a wise decision. Given the fierce competition, high housing prices, and poor childcare conditions, having children demands a tremendous sacrifice. Professor Choi diagnoses, “From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, the current low birthrate phenomenon is perfectly natural,” and “Those who endure great sacrifices to have children are true patriots.”

On the 2nd, the National Assembly plenary session passed the ‘Amendment to the Framework Act on Low Birthrate and Aging Society.’ The core of the amendment is to provide newborns with a 2 million won voucher, called the ‘First Meeting Use Ticket,’ to purchase essential items and services during the early stages of birth starting next year. However, the response from the younger generation is cynical. They believe that such superficial support will not solve the low birthrate problem. This reflects how complex the causes of South Korea’s low birthrate issue are.

Last year, South Korea’s total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) was 0.84, ranking last among the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Due to aging and increased deaths, the ‘population dead cross,’ where the number of births is less than the number of deaths, has become a reality. To understand the causes of low birthrate, it is necessary to trace back to the changing values regarding marriage. In the past, the universal view of marriage was to marry at an appropriate age, have children, and build a family, but the MZ generation today does not care about such notions. They prioritize individual happiness and self-realization above all else. According to the recently released ‘2020 Population and Housing Census’ by Statistics Korea, the average age of first marriage for married women was 24.6 years in 2020, up 0.4 years from 24.2 years in 2015. Due to industrialization and the improvement of women’s education levels, the universal view of marriage has weakened, and marriage has shifted from being a necessity to a choice.

Moreover, the number of people in their 20s and 30s who view marriage as a significant burden is increasing due to job insecurity and soaring real estate prices. Many vow to marry once they secure stable employment, but the barriers to employment remain high. The housing issue, which must be resolved first to start a household after marriage, is no small matter given the sky-high housing prices. As the number of married people decreases and the age of marriage rises, the age at which the first child is born is also delayed. In South Korea, the average age of first childbirth among women is 32.3 years, the highest among OECD member countries. A higher age at first childbirth means a shorter fertile period after marriage, which can affect the overall number of births.

What is more problematic is the growing trend among married women to prefer not having children. According to the ‘2020 Population and Housing Census,’ among 6,063,000 married women aged 15 to 49, 465,000 (7.7%) currently have no children and have no plans to have any in the future. This number has increased by 175,000 from 290,000 (4.2%) in 2015. As marriage is delayed and the number of married women avoiding childbirth increases, it is inevitable that the total fertility rate continues to hit record lows every year.

One might think that encouraging earlier marriage and childbirth could solve the problem, but it is not that simple. The burden of childcare and education costs also acts as another factor lowering the birthrate. Statistics show that the cost of raising one child to adulthood is close to 400 million won. In a situation where there is a severe shortage of reliable childcare facilities, women bear the full burden of childcare and are forced to give up their social careers, pushed to the brink. As a result, many choose to forgo childbirth altogether.

The answer is clear. If the overall social environment is improved?such as providing quality jobs, stable housing, family-friendly corporate cultures that allow work and childcare to coexist, and expanding childcare facilities?the low birthrate problem will gradually be resolved. Above all, it is necessary for society as a whole to share the burden of childbirth and childcare, which individuals and families currently bear alone. Now that the low birthrate issue has become a social problem rather than an individual one, the government, corporations, and society must actively alleviate the anxieties that arise during the process of having and raising children. This is absolutely not a problem that can be solved with ‘small change.’