Tackling low birthrate crisis

By Jiin Jeong

"Are you holding a party?” the cashier asks as my family checks out our weekly food supply and shoppers turn to stare at the four children in line. Such a sight might've been commonplace in 1970 when the birthrate was 4.53. Now, with the birthrate at 1.24, my family is an anomaly.

As an 18-year-old female who will be entering college next year, I have started laying out my future plans and nowhere in my life do I see the time or budget for children. Looking at the current birthrate, I know I’m not alone.

As people resist having children, the government has been working to boost the low birthrate, but with little success.

First, due to youth unemployment, the average age of marriage has increased and some people are forgoing marriages altogether. According to Statistics Korea, in February of 2016, youth unemployment reached 12.5 percent, the highest since 1999. In “Hell Joseon,” where young adults are required to overcome financial difficulties as well as social barriers set by their parent’s generation, marriage is getting delayed if not abandoned.

Another issue is the cost of raising a child. It costs nearly 389 million won to take care of one child from birth to college. Considering numerous other expenditures, such as education, housing, food and electricity, it is evident that raising even one child is economically demanding in today’s society, not to mention three or more.

Along with these economic issues, the traditional role of Korean women represents a major problem. In Korean society, women are expected to take care of children, but more and more are receiving a higher education and taking jobs. In fact, the ratio of women who went on to college rose drastically from 1.6 percent in 1970 to 74.6 percent in 2014. Not wanting to give up their education and career, women these days are less motivated to start a family.

What needs to be done? To begin with, more workplaces must be created for the youth. As President Park pointed out, “With unstable employment and no income, marriage is unthinkable.” Companies need to structurally reform and make it easier for interns and temporary workers to become permanent workers. Also, policies that require a certain percentage of new employees to consist of youth should be established, and for those out of work, more field-related experience and mentoring should be provided.

Second, marriage should be made more affordable. According to a survey conducted by a wedding bureau, the average marriage cost for newlyweds is 274.2 million won. In order to encourage marriage among the young who are already struggling financially, the government needs to make marriage cheaper. The first step is providing housing, which takes up 69.9 percent of marriage costs. Offering a marriage fund to newlyweds can be another solution.

Third, better public education must be provided. In co-research by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Education, they found an average Korean household spends 244,000 won monthly for private institutions and lessons, 18.1 percent of the entire household expenditure. Due to its financial and mental burden, 26.7 percent of unmarried couples include private education in their reasons for not having children. Improved public education and extracurricular programs is necessary to motivate couples to give birth.

Finally, society should create a welcoming environment for working mothers. According to Statistics Korea, around 20 percent of all married women took leave due to pregnancy and childcare. To encourage women to have children, companies need to help them return to work and adjust after a maternity leave. In addition, there needs to be shorter and more flexible working hours and better childcare facilities to lessen the burden of childcare. Most importantly, the norm that women should maintain the household must be broken. Working women still spend three hours and 14 minutes daily doing household work while men spend 40 minutes. Household work should be shared by both sexes.

Overall, Statistics Korea estimates that in 10 years, the economically productive population will fall by 8.2 percent. As less of the population participates in economic activities and more depend on care and benefits, the economy will eventually lose its vitality. Before this occurs, we must tackle the falling birth rate so that having several children is no longer an anomaly.

The writer is a senior at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies. Write to luckyjiin98@gmail.com,