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People tend to talk about the falling birthrate in Japan a lot, but...
Women on average in South Korea have less than 1 child (officially 0.98 in 2018). This is actually quite a scary statistic!
This is due to a very large amount of issues, and to just name the ones I know of:
- Work Culture
You can't leave work until your boss leaves as it is frowned upon.
Asking to take annual leave affects your chances of promotion.
This links to...
- Long working hours
People work overtime almost every single day, this is due to different reasons. Therefore, people are generally too tired or lack the time in investing one self in having children and sometimes in even having a relationship with someone.
- Cost of living
Affording a house and mortgage is quite expensive. Salaries aren't high enough to afford the cost of living.
Also, South Koreans generally send their children to private education (pre-school, primary education, high school education, tutoring and academies). This is seen as a very expensive investment.
- Gender inequality
Women are seen as the primary carers of children and in Korean society are expected to quit work to take care of the children. Women are increasingly rejecting this and therefore refuse to have children or have a relationship. The wage gap between men and women is also quite high when compared to other countries.
-Korean Society
Very competitive to say the least.
Which leads to...
Suicide in South Korea is a big issue due to all the above issues.
Youth Suicide due to the pressure to perform in school, exams, getting into a good university and finding a job.
Adult suicide due to pressure to provide for the family (long work hours + lack of job security + low salary)
Elderly Suicide due to loneliness and high rate of poverty among elderly people.
As you see, life in South Korea is quite difficult.
The youtube page Asian Boss has interviewed people about this topic a lot and you can see people's answers.
I live in Australia which to be honest I face none of the issues that South Koreans face. But what is stopping South Korea from adapting the kind of norms that Australia has. This would solve a lot of issues there.
That is:
- Normal 40 hour working weeks.
- No job discrimination.
- Raising the minimum wage.
- More faith in the public school system
- Less pressure and expectations on children.
- Both parents to take care of children and not just the mother.
- Closing the wage gap.
And most of all. Having a family and having children is a beautiful and honorable thing to do, and should be encouraged! Because at the end of the day, our children are our future and our legacy that we leave in this world!
If you have any South Korean friends, maybe have a talk with them about this topic.
 
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TLADT24920 Posts
Out of curiosity, what brought this about? Thanks for sharing nonetheless.
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I tend to watch Asian Boss on Youtube a lot. One of the topics was this and I just thought that it is something that people should be aware of.
This is in light of the lowering birth rates not only in Asia but in Europe as well, and the negative consequences of it, both socially and financially.
I just think that it's really sad that people are reaching a stage where they are unable to find love and have a family because of people's situation, or the fact that they are turned off by it.
My dream personally is to get married and have a large family (preferably 4 children)
Also because of SC2 I generally have a love for South Korea and feel bad for their situation
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TLADT24920 Posts
Fair points all around. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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I don't see that trend changing anytime soon.
Maybe they should become more open to immigration.
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On July 04 2020 14:18 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:
I don't see that trend changing anytime soon.
Maybe they should become more open to immigration.
What can immigrants do that the Korean people themselves can not do?
If immigrants are allowed into the country they will face the exact same issues that Korean people do.
Unfortunately the issues won't just go away with immigrants.
I believe this is a challenge that Korean people wish to sort out themselves.
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Some might say that there seems to be too many humans as it is anyway. Lowering birthrates and boosting deaths all around the globe would be a most welcome thing, the other animals and the plants as well would fare much better without the monsters that our species are.
Sadly though, nature repeatedly fails to kill us. She needs to step up significantly in her efforts to exterminate the humans. This paltry virus circulating around achieved nothing in lowering the over 7 billion population. Cancer is doing somewhat better but it is still not acceptable. I understand we are a new species but come on, do better, Nature. All in all - the more people dying and the less being born, the better for the rest of the life on the planet.
So when we look at things on these terms, it turns out South Korea is doing well, I think. I hope they continue to have less and less children.
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If you want to reduce the world's population it has to be done in a more tactical way.
In theory if a family only had one child, then that child has to support both his parents and to a certain degree his grandparents (whether directly or through paying taxes). This puts a very large amount of pressure on future generations as they have to work to support an increasingly larger senior population.
Unfortunately the solution isn't to just 'stop having kids' and doom the next generation.
Also, there are many countries in the world who's total fertility rate is much greater than others (some countries on average have 6 children). These are the countries which should reduce the amount of kids they have.
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On July 04 2020 16:36 AssyrianKing wrote:
If you want to reduce the world's population it has to be done in a more tactical way.
The only thing I want to reduce is my vices. Everything else I leave to everyone else.
On July 04 2020 16:36 AssyrianKing wrote:
In theory if a family only had one child, then that child has to support both his parents and to a certain degree his grandparents (whether directly or through paying taxes). This puts a very large amount of pressure on future generations as they have to work to support an increasingly larger senior population.
Yes, indeed, in theory. However, even I, who am in awe of displays of affection and family bonds, do not expect a child to support degenerative parents or grandparents that raised the child in such a way. This expectation of your does put a tremendous pressure upon future generations, but only if they decide to take the pressure upon themselves.
The refusal of Korean girls and women is eloquent enough for me. "I do not want to take care of children," means she does not care for people other than herself. It would make me suspicious if a woman with such a statement adds to it: "But I would gladly take care of mom and dad, grandpa and grandma when they are sick." Where is the proof of that, girl? How can one believe a word? Have you taken care of someone else? Or have you just had a degree and got a job and then, when time allowed it, went to satisfy some repulsive desire?
I know it is not black and white and that it is not that simple and we're simply scratching tongues around here but still, I would place the blame in the individual, not in a current state policy. The state policy is just that - a guideline for the society of that state. A state can do much to increase birthrate, they can pass laws to stimulate second and third child while punishing those men and women who are childless, can't they? What will the price be? More taxes are likely. Will the current society accept to pay more money now in order to have more South Koreans 20 - 30 years into the future? I have my doubts.
It is similar in Bulgaria as well. I have a daughter and she is the most wonderful child, precious and kind, humble yet intolerant to injustice. I have the deepest affection towards her. Yet I do not feel the desire to have another child. As I am now, I do not feel obligated to make children for the benefit of the state, the EU or the planet in general. I would say I am much more concerned in the improvement of current humans rather than producing more.
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On July 04 2020 16:36 AssyrianKing wrote:In theory if a family only had one child, then that child has to support both his parents and to a certain degree his grandparents (whether directly or through paying taxes). This puts a very large amount of pressure on future generations as they have to work to support an increasingly larger senior population. Not if the old die younger...
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On July 04 2020 14:29 AssyrianKing wrote:Show nested quote +On July 04 2020 14:18 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:
I don't see that trend changing anytime soon.
Maybe they should become more open to immigration. What can immigrants do that the Korean people themselves can not do? If immigrants are allowed into the country they will face the exact same issues that Korean people do. Unfortunately the issues won't just go away with immigrants. I believe this is a challenge that Korean people wish to sort out themselves.
Almost every country in Europe has below replacement birthrates, Germany by itself accepted 890,000 refugees in 2015 alone.South Korea accepted 839 non-Korean refugees from 1994-2018.
Either accept more immigrants or wither away.
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On July 04 2020 15:54 JoinTheRain wrote:
Some might say that there seems to be too many humans as it is anyway. Lowering birthrates and boosting deaths all around the globe would be a most welcome thing, the other animals and the plants as well would fare much better without the monsters that our species are.
Sadly though, nature repeatedly fails to kill us. She needs to step up significantly in her efforts to exterminate the humans. This paltry virus circulating around achieved nothing in lowering the over 7 billion population. Cancer is doing somewhat better but it is still not acceptable. I understand we are a new species but come on, do better, Nature. All in all - the more people dying and the less being born, the better for the rest of the life on the planet.
So when we look at things on these terms, it turns out South Korea is doing well, I think. I hope they continue to have less and less children.
Haha, what an arrogant human. Nature has not 'failed' to kill us, she has just warned us multiple times and we didn't listen. Trust me, when nature wants us gone, we're gone...
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On July 08 2020 00:41 nath wrote:Show nested quote +On July 04 2020 15:54 JoinTheRain wrote:
Some might say that there seems to be too many humans as it is anyway. Lowering birthrates and boosting deaths all around the globe would be a most welcome thing, the other animals and the plants as well would fare much better without the monsters that our species are.
Sadly though, nature repeatedly fails to kill us. She needs to step up significantly in her efforts to exterminate the humans. This paltry virus circulating around achieved nothing in lowering the over 7 billion population. Cancer is doing somewhat better but it is still not acceptable. I understand we are a new species but come on, do better, Nature. All in all - the more people dying and the less being born, the better for the rest of the life on the planet.
So when we look at things on these terms, it turns out South Korea is doing well, I think. I hope they continue to have less and less children. Haha, what an arrogant human. Nature has not 'failed' to kill us, she has just warned us multiple times and we didn't listen (yet). Trust me, when nature wants us gone, we're gone...
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Well if Korea and Japan want to have sufficient birthrate they`d need
- 8h workday.
- not overburdening ppl in general.
- a pro family policy.
- And get women the fuck out from working and get them back to raising families at home.
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On July 18 2020 23:41 ByuuN wrote:
Well if Korea and Japan want to have sufficient birthrate they`d need
- 8h workday.
- not overburdening ppl in general.
- a pro family policy.
- And get women the fuck out from working and get them back to raising families at home.
I agree !
The woman staying at home idea I don't think would be viable in any western economy. The economy of today requires both parents to work. That is true with my family as well. Luckily we had my grandmother living with us to take care of things at home
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EPT
