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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.

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

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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 .

_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._

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

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.

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 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

Many women in South Korea choose not to have children due to societal expectations and gender roles. Single living is often considered a temporary phase, and women who have babies alone are not always judged kindly. Some women find it difficult to find a dateable man who will share household chores and childcare responsibilities equally.

Not only South Korea facing this problem also my country that I come from - Poland. People can't afford to own house the cost of living is too high. If you want a family both of parents has to work unless your spouse makes more than the average person make. As a single person I make the minimum wage where 70% of it goes to pay my rent. It's crazy!!!!

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.

In the 1970s, the Korean government advertised that only animals have multiple children, and that Koreans were now civilized, so they should have only one or two. People really internalized that. Young people don’t even know what happened to their society…. Now people are supposed to change.

10:18 I’ve never heard someone irl speak in that Korean ancient drama male tone lol

Young woman that wanted kids but summaried how difficult it is, is very wise

Change the work culture- Not more than 40H week and give people their private lives back. Avoid getting drunk in the evenings, not stigmatize children outside marriage, are some solutions that might work

This is an extremely serious issue. It's not a joke to say that Korean society will actually completely collapse and disappear in the next 50 years, that's half the lifetime of a child born today.

Woman are not just „to make a Baby” Machine 🤥we are also human beings who want to enjoy our life, with or without a child.

Why you need to spend 2200usd a month for an English speaking kindergarten,while you're living in Korea? That's insanity,just enroll them in a normal public facility and that's it. The woman at the end was spot on,they have this unhealthy obsession with getting a top-tier, western style education,they should change this and understand that growing up in a normal school, going to a normal public university,not speaking perfect english etc...,is just fine.

13:46 I feel bad for her. She really wants to have kids but can't because of other factors. The fact that she watches programs about raising kids and programs that have kids, knowing that she'll probably never get to experience that is just heartbreaking. I really hope she gets to have a kid soon. She looks like she'd be an amazing mother

These folks had some wonderful, thoughful, and educated responses. I feel like I've learned more from them than from any news article about the birth rate issue.

"... 2 or 3... depends how many i can manage.." ..what a realistic sweet guy. I wish him good health and a happy life. I wish that for ALL people.

Not korean but what the lady said at the last minute is something to be considered. I agree with her. I mean like a problem like stunting then for that problem to decrease is to find the root cause and find a solution to the root cause. And it's a long fight. Also need many departments involved not just health or nutrition.

It’s happening around the world not just in South Korea, it’s more evident there because they are geographically a smaller country. Someone mentioned in the comments that only third world countries have high population, but the fact is that even in these third world countries young people are choosing not to have children. Gender wars are higher than ever, society is divided, capitalism and materialism has taken over. Job is stressful, people are overwhelmed and overworking, food rates are high, medical bills are high, rents are high, one can’t survive without two income household, educating a child is expensive, property prices are high. These are all the reasons many young people are opting out of marriage and having children. And very soon in the future, raising a child would be seen as a luxury.

I've lived in Korea for 11 years and the first thing I always hear about having kids is the cost. (That it is super expensive) The funny thing, is it is NOT. (I've saved so much over 11 years and I own an apt now) Parents choose to make it expensive because Korea has such a competitive nature. Parents think they HAVE to send their kids to private academies everyday to improve their chances at success in life which can cost hundreds or thousands a week, and you hear about this in the news "having a child costs this much a week!". And these academies aren't just boring subjects, these include sports, robotics, coding, dance, etc. And in the Korean kids' culture, they often feel like a loser if they don't go to all the academies and their friends do (even if they don't like the subject). At school you hear kids say, "I learned A yesterday" and another kids rebuts, "well I learned B, A is easy". So, even the kids can pressure parents into going to the "hagwons". The second thing is kind of strange. Koreans feel like you need to have completed a checklist before you can even THINK ABOUT getting married and having children. example: I have a job and make A amount of money [X], I have a car [X], I have an apartment owned [X], My partner meets A B C requirements [X], My parents approve of everything in my life [X], and now I can finally have a kid. For most, it's not even an option until these are met. Were as in the west, people just make babies and go with the flow and make it work financially. Koreans are perfectionists and planners so you really need to be in a good position to even consider it. Third, I think the over-time work culture + academy culture combined to have a strange effect where for the past 30ish years families have become less "loving". Compared to the west, family members see each other WAY less. Perhaps only weekend dinners. So these kids grow up not seeing the joy a family brings, and they raise their kids the same way, so less kids dream about starting a family and dream about making money more. And lastly, I think the "I want to stay cool" point is also true. So a lot of their money is budgeted to have a cooler life style, but they could easily afford to have a kid, that goes to 1 private academy a week. I really think this generation of parents need to spend more time with their kids, and when these kids grow up they'll want to have kids too. The best fix I believe is to have ALL academies close by 7pm (will never happen because they will make less money), because a lot of kids stay out until 11pm and eat dinner with friends and when they finally get home they do their school and academy homework. Plus, companies need to have no overtime policies, so parents and kids actually get to spend time together. You can make the cost of living crazy cheap, and parents will use that extra budget to send the kids to more academies haha. You gotta show this generation of kids what the joy of having a family is, or else they are just going to repeat what their parents and grandparents have done.

After living in a few different countries I noticed that men and women act the same: men say they want kids one day and it's a really vague idea with no proper plan of action while women think practically on how to get there and how that will affect them financially and mentally and start preparing earlier. In my opinion this is why a lot of women are set on not having kids, because they thought through it properly for a while. Men just surf life saying they want to have kids (1, 2, 3, 4....) and hope that women will deal with the hard work and logistics.

in the past, women were forced to get married and have kids. i have yet to meet and old lady who had no education, no choice but to be married and not resent her past. old ladies are bitter . now having an education, being able to read an academic paper, being able to think for yourslef and make educated choices and then have kids is a great blessing. but tat was not the case in the past.

한국은 애를 가질려면 일단 결혼을 해야하고 한국에서 결혼이라는것은 양가가족과 일하던 회사에서 모두 동의를 받고 일련의 가족합병의식을 거쳐야 한국사회에서 인정하는 결혼관계가 성립된다 기본적으로 여기서 한 사람이 대략 35년간 모아둔 전부 재산이 사회 재분배의 과정을 거치고 커다란 빚을 떠안게 된다(전세집 구하기,예물,스드메,식장비용 등등등).즉 상당부분의 청년들이 결혼 자체를 부담스러워서 못한다 안정적인 연애를 하고 둘다 백수도 아니고 모아둔돈도 있고 가족들도 합조적이라 커플이 결혼을 했다 치자 아이를 한명만 낳는다쳐도 가구월소득 최소 400만원은 되어야 하는데,한국사회에서 결혼까지 할 수 있는 20대초반~30대 중반의 부부는 대부분 이 수준을 충족하나,여자가 임신출산을 하는 도중는 남자가 외벌이로 그만큼 벌어야 함. 여자는 출산휴가 인정해주는 직장 아니면 경력단절을 각오해야하니 대부분 아이를 낳고 전업주부로써 평생을 살아갈지 커리어활동을 선택할지의 기로에 놓이게 됨 반면 미국은 십대부터 미혼모가 되는것에 거리낌이 없다 심지어 미혼모인 상태로 애를 계속 낳는다 그 아이들이 학교에 가서 미혼모 아이라고 손가락질당할일도 없다 아이는 연애의 산물도 아니고 그냥 섹스의 산물인 듯하다 극빈층이던 장애인이던 중산층 15살 딸내미던 애를 그냥 낳는다.어디 정부지원이나 받아먹으면서 마약빨면서 애키우기도 하고,미혼모인 상태로 유명인이 될수도 있고 국회의원이 될 수도 있다 반면 한국은 미혼모가 가질수 있는 직업은 식당직원, 편순이 정도가 되겠다.

The first guy is locked in

Because a stay at home mom with kids is a luxury nowadays, 90% of men simply can't afford it.

Koreans think how to raise kids properly before giving birth. They are responsible enough to understand that if they can provide good life to their kids only then they will bring them on earth. I wish Indians think in this way. Irrespective of social status or income, being poor or middle class or rich, once a boy or girl grows to a marriageable age, they are getting married, some of them may not have stable income too. After marriage societal pressure is there to give birth. Irrespective of jow much India develops in science & technology, there is no change in this thought.

I hope you can get a correspondent in Singapore to interview Singaporeans about the fertility crisis there too. Singapore has a fertility rate of 0.97, the second lowest in the world and the fertility rates among Singapore's three main ethnic groups are all below replacement level too - Chinese: 0.94, Indian: 0.97 and Malay: 1.83.

I don't think it's all about money. My country has universal healthcare, tax-funded university tuition, up to a year of paid parental leave, etc. Yet our birthrate is below sustaining level. And it would be even lower without the more religious migrant groups, who tend to have more than 2 children. Climate change is probably the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced, and it looks like the world is headed towards another global war. People are scared about their own future, which is not a good environment to have children in. On the other hand, less humans on this planet would probably be a good thing for nature to recover.

It’s great to get contrasting perspectives. Great interviews in Itaewon 👍🏻

The woman at 18:30 is spot on! Why would someone have a child, knowing that child is going to have a miserable life?

Great video thanks for the upload

15:21 I was born in 🇰🇷 and bred in 🇳🇿. It’s been about 1 and a half years since I returned to 🇰🇷. I am planning to return to 🇳🇿 in the near future because 🇰🇷’s future won’t become brighter. This is the reality for many Korean women since their work colleagues generally do not like women going on maternity leave. The main reason is that the workload from female workers on maternity leave will be redistributed, putting more pressure on their colleagues in general. My motherland is doomed..

Wow, it was astounding to watch this interview and feel so represented by the words of women that live in the opposite side of the world (I'm from Italy). I felt like there were no barriers, no cultural differences that could prevent me in really understand what they were saying. I love and support them all.

This is great work. Excellent reporting from the street. KZfaq at its best, showing what people around the world think about their lives. Thank you!

Do u want to have kids? Men: Yes 🙂 Women: No 💅

One interesting nuance is that almost nobody wants, or thinks it's practically feasible, to have more than 2 kids. You see this a lot in other countries too. Realistically, to maintain a birth rate above 2.1 requires quite a lot of people to have 3-4, because there's always going to be some people who, for various reasons, have no kids at all. This is a kinda obvious fact about averages on the face of it, but I think in a lot of countries having large families increasingly seems not just difficult to manage, but intrinsically undesirable/irresponsible.

Good answers from the interviewed 👍

as a korean new Zealander, born and raised here i gotta say that this issue is not likely going to be solved. fertility rate gets lower and lower with more deaths than births and sk is now suffering an aging population crisis. alot of schools have been closed due to lack of children even universities too. now there r about 200k births compared to 400k more than 10 yrs ago. sk government tries to solve it by sending out incentives like a cash support for every child born but that's not enough considering the fact that parents have to send them to school and other academic institutions which cost more than that. if sk gov cant do anything to solve this issue, then sk has no choice but to accept more immigrants bec its looks like korean r not going to make more babies anymore. everything is competitive from education and work so maybe they like if environment is less competitive where they can have a balance of work and life bec if they work more than 50 hrs a week, how can they have time to take care of their kids? nk is facing same issue due with declining birth but still they have birth rate of more than 1 so birth are still higher than deaths. it's not good for sk if this trend continues bec if there r less children then sk military pop will also decrease. they now have to get women or foreigner do mandatory military service.

00:01 Koreans have mixed feelings about the birth rate crisis. 02:24 Korea's low birth rate crisis and potential impacts 04:58 Low birth rate impact on schools and future generations 07:28 Challenges faced in raising children due to societal restrictions and lack of support 09:48 Financial difficulties and changing societal values impact birth rates. 12:13 Financial burden of raising a child in South Korea 14:45 Concerns about short-term policies and importance of creating a supportive environment for child-rearing 17:06 Concerns about Population Decrease and Tax Burden Koreans have mixed feelings about the birth rate crisis. - Many young Koreans are uncertain about marriage and having children due to career concerns. - Some feel pressured to prioritize career over starting a family, despite a desire for children. Korea's low birth rate crisis and potential impacts - Korea's birth rate dropped to a record low of 0.65, affecting pension and societal views. - Policies and government initiatives are in place, but challenges remain in increasing birth rate. Low birth rate impact on schools and future generations - Schools shutting down due to lack of students, leading to a sad situation. - Impact of greatly reduced birth rate to become a big social issue in about 20 years. Challenges faced in raising children due to societal restrictions and lack of support - Difficulty in maintaining a stable life due to the need for economic stability, housing, and education - Barriers like restrictions at work, maternity leave issues, and glass ceilings impacting decisions on marriage and having children Financial difficulties and changing societal values impact birth rates. - There is a shift from previous generations who endured financial hardships to current individuals not wanting the financial burden of raising children. - The widening gap between rich and poor and concerns about housing prices and public security add to the hesitation in having children. Financial burden of raising a child in South Korea - Costs of sending a child to English kindergarten and academies are extremely high, requiring much higher than average salary - Uncertainty about the amount of money needed to raise children due to the evolving economic landscape and increasing expenses Concerns about short-term policies and importance of creating a supportive environment for child-rearing - Short-term policies like monetary incentives for giving birth may not be as effective as creating a supportive environment for childcare and work-life balance. - Estimations suggest that the Korean population may significantly decrease in the future due to the ongoing low birth rate crisis. Concerns about Population Decrease and Tax Burden - Anticipating accelerated disappearance of small and medium-sized local cities - Suggests expressing opinions during elections for a better solution to low birth rate

It is true that many things that were given up for rapid growth quickly developed Korea, which had nothing left after the war. However, the side effects began to appear in the 1990s, and the problem is getting worse due to the old generations who couldn't let go of their pride in the era of growth.

I saw a korean TV show ep about the only pediatric surgeon in Korea. The man was ready to get retired but he couldn't leave without having a substitute, he was very worried waiting for his students to finally get their degrees... there were many kids needing surgery but there was only him there to work

인터뷰에서 보여줬듯이 여성들은 커리어를 포기해야 한다. 육아를 위해 일을 쉬면 퇴직을 강요당하고, 그 다음에는 저임금 노동을 할 수밖에 없다. 즉, 아이를 키우면 실제로 아이를 키울 돈이 충분하지 않습니다. 좋은 회사에 근무하고 휴직을 해도, 다음 문제는 아이의 유치원. 정부는 저출산에 맞춰 공립유치원 수를 줄였다. 문제는 공립유치원의 부족이 아이러니하게도 공립유치원에 갈 수 있는 좋은 위치에 있는 가정의 임대료를 올린다는 점이다. 즉, 자녀를 유치원에 보내려면 비싼 사립 유치원에 보내거나 비싼 임대료를 지불해야 합니다. 초등학교와 중학교의 체인에서도 같은 문제가 발생합니다. 육아 비용의 죽음의 소용돌이 같은 거죠.. 그 밖에도 사회 구조적 문제가 많지만 댓글로 적기는 어렵다

It's a crazy world we all live in. In many countries it feels impossible to even get a decent job, let alone one that will pay enough to support children. Many students even with university degrees are struggling to find employment in all sectors. This is a problem all over, including: China, United States, South Korea, Canada and many many more countries. Jobs want more and more and more qualifications, make entering the market more difficult, don't accommodate anyone since they have power in the current market. Yet gov't wants people to have kids. Where is the compromise, the average citizens always lose in these situations.

I feel that the best solution for them is to increase mental/mood therapy provided by the government, offer mothers a friendly welcome back to the workforce, dismantle patriarchy, and educate men/sons about sharing household responsibilities. Also, make them stop the thinking of being perfect.

I think it's about your perception that 'Wealth equals Happiness' (actually it's not) and what is being promoted in the media and through mediums of entertainment like Kpop culture etc

Seoul is everything it seems like..no other cities can even compete..when all your eggs are in one basket its gonna collapse..south Korea needs other cities to develop in jobs and communities which will help keep competitiveness prices down. Thats more of a government issue. What south koreans are not thinking is there jobs will shrink they will work way more harder and longer hours and the prices will skyrocket so much all the dreams of every south korean will be completely squashed. These people go to college and this is taught in most basic classes on how populations and business work...by 2050 it will be too late ...investors will pull out etc...but i feel there pain..that one guy said it best..cant keep up with inflation.

To me it seems more like South Korean society is self-destructing, rather than facing realistic cost obstacles. 1 mil $ to raise a child is insane. One does not have to send them to extracurriculum activities or to the best schools if one cannot afford them. One can actually spend time with his child and send it to public schools. If the child is appropriately supervised, it will come out fine. If the grown-up child doesn't work to Samsung, it's fine. Being a plumper is not shameful, you can also make a ton of money that way. One who wants kids, has kids, no ifs-and-buts. The cost-of-living is a societally constructed excuse for people that do not want simply kids, but actually want their kids to become the next CEO of some conglomerate, as if actual life is a K-Drama. If they can't provide the prerequisites for this, then the candidate parents see no reason to have kids, they will not compromise with sending their kids to public schools or not hiring the best private tutors or not sending them to whatever activity that will keem them away from home and parent-child quality time. The woman that was inclined to have kids, couldn't put it more correctly. If I can feed them, then it's enough because the rest can be compensated one way or the other. But it seems that the Korean society has gotten its societal priorities wrong and no amount of government support can change this. If it takes 1 mil to raise a child, then the allocated 260 mil by the government amounts to the cost of... 260 children, that's by default meaningless and ridiculous. Problem is that societal priorities is also a matter of character building which in a significant part is a responsibility of the schools and teachers. Korea is doing so well at bringing up well-educated children, it seems less so when it comes to teaching what is actually valueable in life. The government might as well save the 260 mil and try to reform what is actually being taught at schools.

One problem is that everybody wants to live in Seoul nowadays. So there is a severe lack of apartments and high living costs in Seoul. If people would be willing to live in the small towns and villages, just as their ancestors did, they could save a lot of money and get children.

when the pigs on the farm refuse to mate and breed, it is not the pigs that are worried. It is the farmers, the butchers and the businessmen that are worried.

It's really sad that Korean people think that if they are married or raising children, they have to give up their carrier. In my country, even a woman have children they still can continue their carrier and do whatever they want. they have commitment with their husbands so they can think how to raise their children together. They don't have to give up their job just because they married.

4:43 한국에서 "개인적인 삶"이란 자신에게 돈 쓰는 것을 의미하지. 누군가와 만나 사랑을 만들고 가족을 꾸려나가고 그러는것을 의미하는게 아님. 아니 그렇게 될수 밖에 없음. 왜냐하면 한국은 자유, 평등, 비물질주의가 없거든. 서양처럼 편하게 살 수가 없음. 너무 경직되어있고 선도 많고 위계질서적이고 물질주의적이며 경쟁도 치열하고 규칙과 질서가 사회를 지배함. 그래서 물질적 풍요 말고는 행복을 느낄수 있는 기회가 없음. 진정한 행복은 인간관계와 경험에서 나오는 것인데. 가정에서 조차 위계서열 잡고 학원 보내며 공부시키는 나라인데 뭘 기대해? 어릴때는 학원, 커서는 직장 ㅋㅋ 서양인들이 한국 보면 충격 먹어

One issue I keep seeing mentioned is the cost of additional after school educational opportunities that are considered necessary due to the competitive nature of Korean society. I wonder if offering vouchers for these programs would be helpful in taking some of the burden off of families

I also think social media has show young Koreans that life doesn't have to be one way or you're doomed. Even though I'm past my reproductive years, I have found in the last 20 years that I have learned so much through coming across different contents here on KZfaq. My mind has been expanded and I see a much broader world then ever before.

Korea needs to end the normalcy for kids to go to after school academies. It's unnecessary money spent and waste of time for children, let kids be kids. school is not life.

Just from this interview alone, it is clear that the cost of living is getting too high. Many young people feel like they can barely afford to support themselves let alone raising a kid. One of these issues is the high housing costs. So if the government truly wants to make a difference, they need to address these concerns. I think if the government would help subsidize a large amount of the housing cost for any young couples with kids, it would go a long way in addressing this issue. Spending any money in the media just telling people this is a serious issue and telling them to have more kids would be a real waste of money without addressing many of the basic financial concerns by the government.

The citizens know of the problem but can't do anything about it because even the government is not doing enough.

American woman here: I’m a single mom and I’ll say it’s a lot easier to focus on my son and my dogs without a father in the picture. The way people are taught to treat their parents and partners is… highly disappointing, to say the least. They basically see “family” as a means to an end, always. I won’t touch on the sexism and DV. With that observation, I lived highly intentionally. Once I had the goal to be a mother, my life choices revolved around my child. Where I worked, where I lived, etc. I learned a skillset that allowed me to work from home, should I need to homeschool my child and be there for him when he is sick. I am a mother first before anything else. My job is a means to an end for me to be a mother. I don’t have to compromise with work and being single, I don’t ever feel like someone else isn’t pulling their weight. I set the rules. I run my home. I live each day how I choose to. Once my son is older and more independent, I’ll have another child, either adoption or biologically. However, I’m far from alone. My brothers frequent my house to make sure I’m safe and alive. My son’s relatives are in the picture. He is loved and cared for, adequately. I don’t care about being a wife. I care about being a mom. I highly recommend getting your affairs in order, career, health, finances, so that when you decide to have children, you’re able to pivot from one challenge to the next. Being a parent isn’t hard. At all. But if I lived my life caring about what other people thought of me, as Koreans often struggle with, I can see why I’d be unhappy. Also, sexism and violence against women. I really don’t understand why people are so terrible to their loved ones.

Personal experience here: the English kindergarden question in the video and in the comment section made realise that there's probably of a lot of parents paying extremely expensive English classes for their children. If you, who is reading this, do that, I would advice you to stop. Language isn't something you can learn but having a really good teacher and buying a bunch of books. English is my second language and I can assure you no teacher taught me English. Languages is something you need to pratice, immerse yourself into, and have someone to pratice with. These goes for any language. Maybe no one will see this or even disagree, but if you genuinely want to learn a language: find a native speaker of your desired language or a friend to also learn the language and practice with them, the rest is somewhere for free on apps like Doulingo or Babbel.

Is there no concept like maternity paid leave in Korea? In India it's 6 to 7 month(1 month before pregnancy) and it's also applied to private sector. It's the law in India and if employer don't comply then they can dragged them to court

even in big population country like Indonesia it does happen too, the birth rate decrease. My grandma has 9 childs, my mom 4 childs and me... i dunno 😅

Everybody is talking a lot about S.Korea but the west is the same. The only difference is that the west allows easy inmigration. If the west counted native birthrate only, it would be similar. We are the first generation that realized how much an unstable parenting can ruin your wellbeing and we don't want to give that to our future kids but at the same time it's becoming more and more difficult to provide such environment.

As many have pointed out, the issues are government and living costs. It makes it difficult and intimidating to start a family when financials are uncertain in your later life. Another factor is, that women can make a living for themselves. So many don't see the need to find a man.

I'm not even from Korea, but I can completely relate to the reasons they've given here. Having and raising kids properly (i.e. giving them all they need, familial and economic stability, making sure they grow up kind and competent and with a fighting chance for themselves), especially in this time of economic hardships, really starts to seem like a faraway and impossible dream. We can barely afford a proper home or healthcare for ourselves, what in the world would make us think we can give those to our kids.

Show this video to their government. And mine too in Australia. They all explained it very well.

The biggest problem is that there are no affordable houses near Seoul.

I really think that Korean culture needs to change and stop almost vilifying single parents households and have more places that help those parents and children. There also needs to be incentives to have kids in Korea but living there is a grind and will make people want to just fend for themselves and not want to have kids. It was brutal for my mom back in the 90s and doesn't seem like much has changed. Let's not even talk about the "hidden" homeless crisis there.

If im not wrong Finland has a population of only 5 million and they do well. Korea has ten times more than that. How is it a problem? If the population declines over time, they should still be able to get by, just like Finland does. Also Iceland has even fewer people.

0:08 I thought they are a couple, what made their answers so damn funny

The problem is not money or facilities. Its people's expectations of childcare or having children changed. Previous generations had no money or any facilities but still had many kids. That's because it was the expectation of the society. People then were fine their kids survived. Now, people have more freedom. Having children is no more a priority. Work culture discourages having children. And people want the best in everything for their children. This inflates prices and increases competition. Until we change the expectations, the developed world is doomed.

My question is how much will things in Korea improve if Korea reunified? I mean there’s more space. So would people move out of Seoul and try to develop other cities like Busan, Daegu, Pyongyang (If Koreas Reunify) etc?

I'm not Korean, but as a Chinese, I feel the same sentiment-- having my own issues to deal with, having my doubts in raising them, and realistically more difficult if that were a viable option with how many of us are financially struggling!

If the fertility rate is sustained at 0.7, and immigration is not factored into account, then the country will be facing a 3% population decline annually later this century. It will literally result in a forever shrinking GDP, which is not sustainable with current economic models. The government will not even be able to run a balanced budget let alone deficit, because its debt to GDP will increase at a fast rate even at a balanced budget, and it will become impossible to make money investing as the market will be shrinking so fast that companies profits will decrease every year. This doesn't even take into account the aging and immense expense required to pay for pensions unless the old people are left to fend for themselves, which I doubt given they will make up most of the voter base and most won't have grandkids to care about the future. I think something will have to give and the society will collapse entirely in its current form and something completely different will emerge and take its place instead, but I cannot predict what that will be.

부모님세대때는 아이를 낳고 가정을 꾸리고 내가 즐길거 먹을거를 줄여서 자녀한테 쓰는게 큰 기쁨이었지만 지금 세대는 자녀, 배우자보다 나 자신의 삶이 중요함. 누가 나쁜게 아니라 가치관이 바꼈다는거

I LOVED HOW THE PAIR AT THE BEGINNING WAS LIKE: Girl: mulling it over a bit, unsure about what to say Guy: *Yes.*

Maybe if there’s more option to choose from than just Seoul there will be less pressure and competition. Everything is compact into one city and it gonna drive the cost of everything up. Too many people not enough resources to go around. I mean I don’t plan on having kids myself unless I feel financially safe to do so. As for the people telling me who’s going to take care of me when I’m old, I’m going to put my faith in technology and robot. There’s many case of people who have kid and they are lonely with no one to care for them in their old age.

Excellent answers from every interviewee. The guy with the ponytail seemed to be especially thoughtful. As for me and my wife in Korea, she was eager to have kids when we first started dating. But these days as a married couple we have both agreed it's better to just enjoy each other's company without a child - stress free and able to save for our retirement rather than spending hundreds of millions of won raising a kid into a society with so little joy to offer them.

Korea also isn't meaningfully turning to immigration to fill the gap. The immigration rules are becoming more and more restrictive every year.

If i had a kid, i will never financially recover

men treating a child as a puppy "i want one" says a lot about why women dont care about this

It's one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It could stand to thin out a little.

Life itself is seen as a burden by so many that's what I am feeling from myself and the vibe I got from people. "Life is tiring, expensive, frustrating, etc." something like that. Especially with how long working hours are. I myself find it relatable, because I feel like that too sometimes. But if I think about it a little more I think these "hard" things are not really compulsory or anything. They're just so commonly expected from people and also what most people hope to achieve. Life can be beautiful if we see it in a different way but that is not a common way to live.

World before: 🌍 World after: 🌍

9:55 this guy has 100% got it!!

I wish there was a way to help Korea out, because I genuinely believe there's always a platinum lining to the crisis at hand. Of course, this doesn't mean trying to enforce parenthood unto those who don't want kids. I know I will have children someday, but I totally respect anyone who isn't ready or interested in having children right now or at all.

Korea is controlled by few companies. Korea takes it to whole new level than Russia in Oligarchy.