How Koreans Feel About Birth Rate Crisis | Street Interview

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Lolll of course the men in their society want kids. Its so easy to "love" your kids and get married when your wife does all the work. I dont blame the women for not wanting kids if all the burden is put on them.

Why would Young Koreans, especially women, want to have kids? They grew up in that hyper competitive environment and know how stressful it is to be doing school work 12 hours a day, 18 hours a day, and only getting 5 hours of sleep. And if you're the mother, you can kiss your career goodbye. You get discriminated against openly for being a mother with no promotions, barely any raises, and people pressuring you to quit to be a stay at Home mother. If you work outside the home, you still have a full time job with ALL the domestic duties unless you luck out with a helpful father. And the father never sees their family, having to work crazy hours to make up for the lack of a second income, and that's only if the overtime is even PAID in the first place. It often times isn't. And the after work forced socialization when all you want to do is go home and see your wife and kid is the key to promotions. You have to be a "team player". Korea is suffering from hyper capitalism in a country that expanded super fast from abject poverty after the Korean War to one of relative prosperity in 50 years. Society hasn't kept up, and it's punishing the young and the weak.

If I was a man, I'd also like to have children but since I am not and I am the one who has to give birth, be pregnant, risk my health, probably my career, I don't. It's actually not that complicated. Not even talking about money, housework and child care here.

“Since we don’t know what the future holds, I think I should become a person who can go anywhere, anytime”

Men don't do their share of parenting and household work and wonder why women turn away?

The problem is the government and rising cost, they want kids but can't afford it

IMO, this is a scene not only in Korea but everywhere in the world. Cost of living is increasing non stop, richer gets richer and middle income earners are squeeze till it's difficult to breath. So it's no surprise that many younger generations opt to take care of their own first instead of thinking to start a family.

Another reason: Many men are ultra conservative, meaning they will expect the women to quit their job, say goodbye to their career and commit to being a housewife. While on the other hand, many young korean women are not putting up with this mindset of conservativeness anymore. It is mainly the women who say: "No more, I don't need to be a child bearer and housewife to my husband. I am more than that in life". So the men and women in Korea have evolved differently in the past 20 years. Men are stuck in the past,while women are quite liberal. There comes the gender war. I spoke to many korean friends of mine about this. Plus, as a women in Korea myself, who would be willing to have some children, it is super hard to find a "decent" (respectful, forward thinking, helpful, supportive, open minded, not ultra conservative) man then, to even have children with.

This all stems from rising income inequality. My grandparents had 6 kids, and lived pretty well in the suburbs. All off his salary from drafting maps. My parents both worked blue collar jobs, and just got by raising 2 kids. Now, I can't really afford any children.

The common perception of giving birth and raising children is often seen as a significant burden in Korea.

Being a kid there sounds awful, like you’re just some robot tasked with learning everything from dawn til dusk then joining a never-ending fight for work and status with a terrible work/life balance as soon you’re an adult. Why would anyone want to do that?

The only way to solve COL crisis is to move large companies out of Seoul. You cannot have 90% of the country living in one city and expect housing prices to drop.

Why have a child that's going to put you deeper into debt and poverty and then later on in life you have to tell you're child when they turn 18, you cannot afford to pay for their college and now you and your adult kid, are both living in poverty.

With all things considered with how Korean society is as an whole you cannot even blame people if they say they do not wish to have children. Most adults & people are unhappy & others simply can’t even afford to

서로가 서로를 심판하는 사회인지라 서로가 감시당하는 사회. 질서와 규칙이 사회를 지배하는 선많은 사회. 상상을 초월한 위계질서적인 문화. 가족의 가치를 경시하는 사회. 가정에서 조차 위계서열 잡는 사회. 걍 자유 평등이 없고 위계질서적인 사회. 한살 차이만 나도 위계구조. 유쾌함은 눈씻고 찾아볼수 없는 나라.

What the guy said , seeing our parents work to the bone to not enjoy much in life makes people not want to give life just to endure what we had already endured which was seeing our parents suffer and suffering with them .

I mean in my pov as a female in this 21st century , my parents invest a lot in my education to help me get myself better opportunities in my future career , and the country i come from doesnt completely support the idea of woman working ( ecsp if the woman is to get married its always expected of her to give up her dreams and career for the sake of someone she just met ) ,no w tell me why i must go through 12 years of school ,4 years of undergraduate ( and if we add post graduate degree ) 2 more years of education , and waste 18 years of my parents salary if i have to give it up for the sake of someone ?? Who would want that ? I wouldnt i would want a good career for myself and would want to support my family with my money too

It's a trend in all developed countries. Korea is just the most extreme case but many many countries are well below the 2.1 fertility rate needed to just maintain current population.

I live in Seoul and these days people even refer to women who have kids as patriot, as it contributes to the capacity of the nation in economic and societal terms.