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By Rachel Lee, Jun Ji-hye, Baek Byung-yeul
The low birthrate has become a social malaise in Korea.
The government has already announced a set of measures to balance the aging society and prevent a population decline as part of its long-term policy goals.
According to Statistics Korea, the country had a birthrate of 1.226 children per woman in 2010 and 1.244 in 2011. Even China, with its long-established one-child policy, had a rate of 1.6.
And the average age of women giving birth has become higher, reaching 32 last year due to a variety of reasons, including the expansion of job opportunities for women.
An increasing number of women give birth in their 30s rather than 20s. Some of them are busy with their career but mostly, they cannot afford to pay for the cost of raising a child.
Min Jae-yoon, a 31-year-old office worker, is one of them. He and his wife don't have any plans to have children yet.
"The main reason is money. I am not sure if I can cover the childcare cost. So, my wife and I have given up on having children for a while," he said.
Min said he cannot save any money although his monthly salary is quite decent.
"I need to send one million won ($914) to my parents every month to supplement their living expenses, and then I need to give pocket money to my younger sister who is a jobseeker at the moment," he said.
"Plus, I need to pay back two loans ― the student loan and the one I got when I got married," he said, adding that his monthly salary is barely enough to live on for a month for his family.
"My wife is working as well. But, she also sends some money to her parents and pays off her loan and various taxes," he said.
The 31-year-old confessed that he desperately wanted to have a baby when he went to the first birthday party of his friend's son.
"The baby in a Korean traditional costume was so cute. At the moment, I imagined having a birthday party for my own son or daughter. It will be the happiest time of my life, but I just can't have babies now. I can't afford it." he said.
Choi Hyun-jung, 34-year-old art institute instructor, doesn't want to think about having a baby since she heard how much her elder sister spends on her two kids, aged five and seven.
Choi's husband, a businessman, makes 3.5 million won ($3,200) a month, while she earns about 2 million won ($1,800). It is enough for them to have a decent life compared to her sister's family who earn some 7 million won ($6,400) monthly.
But, when it comes to having a child, it is another story. Her sister spends 500,000 won ($460) and 1 million won ($915), respectively, for sending them to kindergarten and preschool. Considering two children's food expenses and hospital bills, the child-raising burden constantly increases.
On top of that, the owner of her sister's leased home is asking for a rise in the long-term deposit of 40 million won ($37,000) to renew her contract.
Before going to bed, Choi often discusses this matter with her husband. It makes her smirk when she compares her sister's situation to hers.
The couple got a loan to buy their present apartment, which cost 170 million won ($156,000), and is repaying about 1.7 million won ($1,560) to the bank as a monthly installment. And they spend 800,000 won ($730) on living expenses, including their car, food and cell phone bills. If they have a baby, they will end up living a needy life.
Choi and her husband also have to plan for their later years. They are putting 400,000 won ($365) into an installment savings account a month to live a more affluent life after retirement.
"I am investing the money to receive a monthly pension of at least 2.5 million won ($2,300). But I wonder if I could continue to pay at the present level if I have a baby," Choi said.
Um Seung-hee, 33, an interior designer, who has been married for two years, blamed a social system that is inconsiderate of working mothers for not having babies after marriage.
"I need to go to work at 9 a.m. every morning and come back home around 9 p.m. When I have a special project, I sometimes need to stay at the office with my colleagues all night long," she said.
"My company does not operate a daycare center or a nursery for its female employees who have babies. I don't want to ask my parents or my husband's parents to take care of a baby either as they also have a right to enjoy their free time," Um said.
She claimed such a situation led her to conclude that it was impossible to bring up a child while working. But, she doesn't have any intention to quit her job at the moment.
"I studied so hard and worked a lot to get this job. I don't want to quit my job only to raise a baby. I think most women are the same. I think this is the biggest reason for the low birthrate in Korea," she said, adding that no one can criticize women for this.
"It is society that has to take the blame as it doesn't create social atmosphere to let female workers do both _ work and raise children," she said.
Kim Young-shin, a 36-year-old office worker, has been married for five years but still hasn't had a baby.
"I'm working as a deputy manager and I am happy as my project is going smoothly. But my life as a woman, not as a career woman, is a lot different," said Kim.
"I wanted to have a baby, and I made up my mind to get maternity leave if I had a baby," she added. But things turned out contrary to her hopes. She tried to have a baby, but couldn't get pregnant.
Kim was absorbed in her career as things were not working as she had intended.
"When I worked hard, I could make my days flow quickly. It was good that the thought about having a baby didn't occur to me when I was engrossed in my work," she said.
Kim, who is in charge of devising mid- and long-term investment plans for her clients, said, "Even now my husband is telling me to quit my job and concentrate on having a baby. But it is difficult for me to quit now."
Kim thinks that the responsibility for her work is the biggest priority, and as a leader of an important project she can't get a rest because of her pregnancy.
"It is said that women quit their jobs when they are pregnant in Korea. But I feel a strong responsibility for my job. For now work comes first before having a baby," she said.
Shin Kwang-yeong, a Chungang University sociology professor, thinks late marriage and late childbearing occur in unstable economic situations of societies in general.
"In the past, there was a formula that marriage equals childbirth, but now owning one's home and raising a kid cost too much in Korean society," he said.
The professor also pointed out that it has been "taboo for a female worker to take maternity leave in our corporate culture." Maternity leave is defined by law in Korea. One of a couple can leave for maximum one year, receiving up to 1 million won a month, but many employees avoid using this benefit.
"No one discourages the couple from using maternity leave, but it needs great courage to use it in reality," he said. "Many people say that Korea should learn North European welfare policies. If we only try to catch up with the average level of welfare policies of states belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), there will be a huge improvement in the current circumstances in Korea."
