Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs survey of women within one year of childbirth
Mothers in the first year or so after childbirth reported that the biggest difficulty in raising their young children was physical and mental exhaustion, rather than financial burden. Although “cost” is often cited as the main reason for hesitating about pregnancy and childbirth, the analysis indicates that immediately after giving birth, the burden on the body and mind is felt more acutely.
Why did they quit their jobs after childbirth? "Not enough trustworthy childcare options"
On the 19th, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs announced the results of an online survey conducted from August 18 to September 1 last year on 1,003 women who experienced childbirth in 2024. According to the survey, 48.8% of respondents cited “physical and mental exhaustion” as the greatest difficulty in childrearing. This was followed by “high costs (18.0%)” and “difficulty balancing work and childrearing (17.8%).”
Response rates also differed depending on whether the respondent had given birth to a second child. Of the 1,003 women surveyed, 738 had given birth to their first child and 265 had given birth to a second or subsequent child. While the ranking of difficulties was the same, the share of those who answered “physical and mental exhaustion” was somewhat higher among first-time mothers at 50.1%, compared with 45.2% among those with two or more children. In contrast, the response “high costs” was more frequent among women who had a second or subsequent birth (21.6%) than among first-time mothers (16.7%).
It was also found that only about one in two mothers remained employed after childbirth, including those on parental leave. Only 52.7%, or just over half, maintained their employment status, while 25.1% became career-interrupted women, moving from employment before and around childbirth to non-employment. The share who remained non-employed was 19.0%, and 3.2% moved from non-employment into employment.
The most common main reason for quitting work after childbirth was “no suitable place where I can confidently entrust my child” (26.3%). This was followed by “difficulty using work-family reconciliation schemes (24.8%)” and “placing greater value on being fully responsible for childcare than on working at a company (18.3%).” In contrast to women, 92.4% of husbands, as spouses, maintained their employment status before and after childbirth in 2024. The research team analyzed, “This shows that gender differences in labor market participation manifest differently at the time of having children.”
Number of newborns likely to exceed 250,000 last year... Number of marriages also on the rise
Meanwhile, the number of newborns is showing an upward trend. According to the report “Population Trends in November 2025” released by the National Data Office on January 28, the cumulative number of births from January to November last year was 233,708. This represents an increase of 13,647, or 6.2%, compared with the same period a year earlier (220,061).
The total number of births last year is expected to surpass 250,000. This is because the number of births in December is projected to exceed the previous year’s figure (18,256). If this happens, South Korea is expected to record its highest annual number of births in four years, since 2021 (260,562). Over the past three years, the numbers of births in South Korea were 249,186 in 2022, 230,028 in 2023, and 238,317 in 2024.
The total fertility rate is also highly likely to exceed 0.8. The total fertility rate is an indicator representing the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, and in November last year it stood at 0.79, up 0.02 from the same month a year earlier.
The number of marriages is also on an upward trajectory. The number of marriages in November last year was 19,079, an increase of 498 cases (2.7%) from the same month a year earlier, marking 20 consecutive months of growth since April 2024. The cumulative number of marriages from January to November was 214,843, up 7.5% from the previous year (199,893).
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