"There Are Companies in Korea Offering 100 Million Won"... Chinese Angry Over 290,000 Won 'Marriage Encouragement Subsidy'

380,000 Won for First Childbirth After Marriage Registration

Marriage and childbirth incentive policies introduced by local governments in China are drawing criticism. The policy offers about 300,000 KRW to women who marry before the age of 35, but the amount is considered ridiculously small.

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On the 2nd, Chinese media including the state-run English newspaper Global Times reported that Luliang City in Shanxi Province, northern China, will provide a subsidy of 1,500 yuan (about 290,000 KRW) starting January 1 next year to couples where the woman is 35 years old or younger and registers their marriage for the first time. Additionally, 2,000 yuan (about 386,000 KRW) will be given upon the birth of the first child after marriage registration, 5,000 yuan (about 966,000 KRW) for the second child, and 8,000 yuan (about 1.55 million KRW) for the third child.

Locally, there was a flood of ridicule toward the local government's policy, saying the subsidy was too small. Responses included comments like "That much? How touching" and "Thanks for thinking of me, but keep it yourself." Some compared it to the childbirth incentive policy of the domestic company Booyoung Group, which pays 100 million KRW to employees for each child born, saying, "I heard South Korea has a 100 million KRW childbirth incentive."

"China's birth rate likely below 1.0 last year"

Recently, China has also been struggling with low birth rates. The number of births last year was around 9 million, the lowest since records began in 1949. China's fertility rate had already dropped to 1.09 in 2022. Demographers estimate that the birth rate fell below 1.0 last year.

In Shanghai, one of the wealthiest cities in China, the total fertility rate dropped to as low as 0.6 last year. As a result, nearly 15,000 kindergartens closed last year alone. The number of elementary school students was also recorded at 143,500 last year, a 3.8% (5,645) decrease compared to the previous year. Many kindergartens are being converted into elderly care facilities due to the increasingly aging population. It is analyzed that burdens such as housing and childcare costs, competition in education and employment, and uncertain economic and political situations are causing people to be more reluctant to have children.