"I Want a Younger Sibling"... Four-Year-Olds Donate from Piggy Banks as 'Low Birthrate Donations'

Gyeongbuk Chilgok Daycare Center Donation for Low Birthrate Gains Attention
27,000 Won Pocket Money Collected in Piggy Bank Donated

Four-year-old children in Chilgok-gun, Gyeongbuk, have become a topic of interest by saving their pocket money to donate to a fund aimed at overcoming low birth rates, motivated by their wish to have younger siblings. According to Chilgok-gun on the 11th, the students of ‘AiseSang Daycare Center’ in Waegwan donated 27,000 won, which they had saved by sparing the pocket money given by their parents, to the Chilgok County Office. The daycare center reportedly delivered a total of 200,000 won for the low birth rate overcoming fund to the county, along with the piggy banks filled with coins collected by the four-year-old children.

Children at a daycare center in Waegwan-eup, Chilgok, Gyeongbuk, are holding piggy banks and taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Chilgok-gun

At this daycare center, on the 2nd of last month, piggy banks were distributed to the children with the message that saving and donating pocket money could help them have younger siblings. In response, children Kim Yebin, Lim Jiwan, Cynthia, and Jung Yejun began putting the coins they had carefully saved into the piggy banks. Yejun said, “I was envious of friends who have younger siblings,” and added, “Since I collected coins, I hope my mom will have a younger sibling for me.”

As the annual total fertility rate plummeted to a historic low of 0.72, deepening the low birth rate issue, ‘one child’ has become the new norm, and last year, the number of births of second or later children fell below 100,000 for the first time. This marks a 52.3% decrease compared to 2016 (192,365 births), when the 200,000 mark was broken for the first time in seven years. During the same period, the number of first-born children decreased by 74,632 (35.0%) from 212,932 to 138,300. The disappearance of second or later children at a faster rate than first-borns is worsening the low birth rate problem. Kim Jaewook, the mayor of Chilgok-gun, stated, “Younger siblings are the best gift for children,” and added, “We will continue to develop and implement policies that can be felt locally, such as campaigns to encourage having younger siblings.”

According to the budget plan prepared by Gyeongbuk Province the day before, the budget for 2025 will reach 13.2618 trillion won, the largest ever. Under the slogan ‘Happy Gyeongbuk Thanks to Children,’ the province plans to strengthen tailored support to create a success story in overcoming low birth rates. Accordingly, 57 billion won will be invested in happy childbirth projects such as maternal and newborn health care support (8.8 billion won) and establishing a one-hour treatment system for obstetrics and pediatrics (4.2 billion won). Additionally, 116.8 billion won will be allocated to full care projects including the expansion of K-Bodeum Childcare Paradise (47.3 billion won), support for public daycare centers (7.3 billion won), and support for building integrated care clusters (4 billion won). This budget will be finalized on December 11 after deliberations by the provincial council’s standing committee and the budget and accounts committee.