INTERVIEW Expert highlights importance of traditional family unit as solution to population crisis

By Lee Hae-rin

Korea emerged from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to become the fourth-largest economy in Asia and 12th-largest in the world. But the country is now suffering from a plunging birth rate and aging population.

Korea's birth rate hit a record low last year, with an average of only 0.78 newborns expected per woman, which is significantly lower than the OECD average of between 1.13 and 1.19 children per woman. According to Statistics Korea's latest population report, 372,800 people died in Korea while only 249,000 were born last year, marking the third straight year of population decline.

Professor Emeritus Lee Myung-sun, an expert in public health at Ewha Womans University, thinks that a growing sense of hopelessness felt by younger generations is the main cause of the country's population crisis.

“Korea will soon disappear into history, the country's birth rate shows,” Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times at the Seoul City Hall, Thursday.

“The older generation was able to live happily and diligently even in a tiny homes,” Lee said, underscoring their determination to build a better future for themselves and their children.

In contrast, the new generation grew up enjoying economic affluence with abundant information and education, but live “without any hope,” and choose to give up dating, marriage and having children, which Lee thinks is ironic.

From years of her experience in the teaching profession, Lee explained that many of her students actually want to get married and have children, but feel burdened by difficulties such as having to quit their jobs to care for children and the economic costs of raising a child.

In that sense, the K-Family Festival in Seoul is a solution Lee and her like-minded experts devised to encourage young generations in despair, she said. Lee headed the organizing committee of this year's K-Family Festival in Seoul that took place from Thursday to Sunday.

“Going back to the fundamentals, I felt it's crucial to convey the importance and value of the traditional family,” Lee said, pointing to a lack of discourse on the importance of the family unit, which she believes has led to the declining birth rate.

Lee and the festival's organizing committee prepared the event for around a year, ensuring that the event goes beyond academic forums and discussions and encourages and welcomes the public to take part in several cultural events that celebrate the meaning of the traditional family.

“Of course, we still need academic discussions and research to solve the declining fertility rate … but there were a few events where couples and families could participate together and contemplate the meaning of the family,” she said.

Lee believes the government should take full-fledged and inter-ministerial measures to deal with the country's declining birth rate. She added that Korea should come up with more effective measures to guarantee both maternity and paternity leaves and make the society more children-friendly.

However, Lee said it is also a “historical responsibility” for everyone to form a family.

“Traditional family culture is what made us who we are today and what Korea has become as a country so far, and it must go on,” Lee said, inviting more people to come join the festival and celebrate the meaning of family together.