South Korea faces severe population decline amid growing burdens on marriage and parenthood

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South Korea is facing a demographic crisis as its birth rate continues to plummet, leading experts to warn of potential societal and economic extinction.

The country’s fertility rate has fallen to the lowest in the world, recording 0.78 children per woman in 2022, far below the replacement level of 2.1. This dramatic decline can be attributed to a confluence of social, economic, and cultural factors, each compounding the challenges of reversing this trend.

Yoo Young Yi’s family history reflects the trend vividly: her grandmother had six children, her mother had two, but Yoo has decided not to have any. The decision is representational of a larger trend among South Koreans, who are increasingly choosing to forgo having children.

Yoo, a 30-year-old employee at a financial company in Seoul, explained the dilemma faced by many of her peers.

“My husband and I like babies so much, but there are things that we’d have to sacrifice if we raised kids,” Yoo said. “So it’s become a matter of choice between two things, and we’ve agreed to focus more on ourselves.”

The sentiment is widespread in South Korea, where many have opted not to marry or start families. While similar trends are observed in other developed nations, South Korea’s situation is particularly severe.

The country’s statistics agency reported in 2023 that the total fertility rate — the average number of babies born to each woman in their reproductive years — was 0.81 last year, marking the world’s lowest rate for the third consecutive year.

In 2021, South Korea’s population shrank for the first time, raising concerns about the potential economic impact. As the world’s 10th largest economy, South Korea faces the dual challenges of labor shortages and increased welfare spending due to an aging population and a shrinking taxpayer base.

A primary driver of the declining birth rate is the high cost of living, particularly in urban areas. Housing prices in cities like Seoul have skyrocketed, making it increasingly difficult for young couples to afford homes.

In addition, the cost of education and childcare is prohibitively high, dissuading many from having more than one child, if any at all. The competitive job market and economic instability further exacerbate financial insecurities, causing many to delay or forgo marriage and parenthood.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for more effective measures to address this crisis. Despite South Korea spending $210 billion over the past 16 years to boost the fertility rate, the numbers continue to decline. The President emphasized the urgency of finding solutions as the fertility rate continues to fall.

Many young South Koreans feel no obligation to have a family, pointing to a range of issues including a bleak job market, expensive housing, social inequality, low social mobility, and the high costs associated with raising children in a competitive society. Women, in particular, highlight the persistent patriarchal culture that burdens them with the majority of childcare responsibilities while they face discrimination in the workplace.

“In a nutshell, people think our country isn’t an easy place to live,” said Lee So-Young, a population policy expert at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. “They believe their children can’t have better lives than them, and so question why they should bother to have babies.”

South Korea’s demanding work culture is another significant factor in the current problem. Long working hours and a pervasive culture of overwork leave little time for family life, making it challenging for parents to balance careers and child-rearing. The societal expectation for women to excel both at work and as primary caregivers has added an additional layer of pressure. As a result, many women opt to prioritize their careers over starting a family, contributing to the lower birth rate.

Choi Yoon Kyung, an expert at the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, noted that many who do not enter good schools or secure decent jobs feel like “dropouts” who cannot be happy even if they marry and have children. This feeling is exacerbated by the lack of advanced social safety nets in South Korea.

Yoo’s decision not to have children was influenced by her observations of female colleagues struggling to balance work and childcare. “After seeing this, I realized my concentration at work would be greatly diminished if I had babies,” Yoo said.

Her husband, Jo Jun Hwi, a 34-year-old interpreter, shares her perspective. He prefers to enjoy life after years of stressful job hunting that made him “feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.”

National statistics reveal a significant decline in marriages and births. Last year, there were about 193,000 marriages in South Korea, down from a peak of 430,000 in 1996. The number of births has also fallen sharply, with about 260,600 babies born last year compared to 691,200 in 1996 and a peak of 1 million in 1971.

Kang Han Byeol, a 33-year-old graphic designer, has decided to remain single, citing gender inequalities, widespread digital sex crimes targeting women, and a culture that ignores social justice advocates.

“I can consider marriage when our society becomes healthier and gives more equal status to both women and men,” Kang said.

Kang’s 26-year-old roommate, Ha Hyunji, also chose to stay single after her married friends advised her against marriage due to the disproportionate amount of housework and childcare they had to manage. Ha, who runs a cocktail bar in Seoul, prefers to enjoy life with her friends rather than face the financial strain of raising children.

“I can have a fun life without marriage and enjoy my life with my friends,” said Ha, who runs a cocktail bar in Seoul.

Until the mid-1990s, South Korea had birth control programs to manage its post-war population boom. The nation distributed contraceptive pills and condoms for free and offered military reserve training exemptions for men who had vasectomies. United Nations figures show a dramatic drop in the average number of children per South Korean woman from four to six in the 1950s and ’60s to less than two by the mid-1980s.

Despite various incentives and support programs for families with multiple children, the fertility rate has continued to fall too rapidly to see tangible effects. During a recent government task force meeting, officials discussed formulating comprehensive measures to address these demographic challenges.

Social attitudes towards those who choose to remain child-free or single are often negative. In 2021, when Yoo and Jo announced their decision not to have children on their YouTube channel, “You Young You Young,” they received numerous critical comments calling them “selfish” and suggesting they pay more taxes. Some accused Jo of being “sterile” and Yoo of “gaslighting” her husband.

Lee Sung-jai, a 75-year-old Seoul resident, expressed traditional views, saying it is “the order of nature” for people to marry and have children. He criticized young women who treat their dogs as children, calling them “crazy.”

Seo Ji Seong, 38, who is expecting her fifth child, is often praised by older people for her contributions to the population. Despite the economic difficulties, Seo and her husband, Kim Dong Uk, enjoy raising their children and appreciate the state support they receive, including a rent-free apartment provided for families with at least four children.

“They are all so cute. That’s why I’ve kept giving birth to babies even though it’s difficult,” Seo said.

Despite population declines in countries like South Korea, the United Nations projects that the world population will grow from 8.2 billion to a peak of 10.3 billion by the 2080s due to significant regional differences in fertility rates and demographic trends.

Many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, have high fertility rates and younger populations, driving overall global population growth. In these regions, improvements in healthcare and living standards have led to lower mortality rates and increased life expectancy, contributing to rapid population growth.

Meanwhile, developed countries with aging populations and low birth rates are experiencing declines. This divergence means that while some nations face demographic challenges, the global population continues to rise, reflecting the varying stages of demographic transition across different parts of the world.