Hello LivelyStones,
South Korea; one of the two ‘Koreas’ that shares the Korean Peninsula with its noisy Northern Neighbor (North Korea), is currently facing a looming demographic and economic disaster, as the country continues to grapple with a devastatingly low birth rate.
At just 0.78 ( in 2022), South Korea currently has the lowest birth rate in the world. Meaning, in a lay man’s parlance, that women in South Korea give birth to fewer babies than women in any other country in the world.
This declining birth rate which stood at 0.81(in 2021) has led some experts to posit that the population of South korea, which currently stands at about 51 million people (in 2021) will shrink to approximately 28 million, by the end of the 21st century (2099).
This problem is dire for a country, that needs a stable population to continually drive its technologically advanced economy ( which is about the 8th biggest in the world).
And of course, a stable population that will provide the manpower, its armed forces will need to defend the country; just in case the ‘Missile-loving’ despot, just over their northern border, Kim Jong-un, gets some crazy ideas one day, and starts raining his beloved missiles down on South Korea.
So dire a problem that the South Korean Government is now offering a whooping free sum of $10,500 (approximately 14,000,000 South Korean won) to any citizen of the country that gives birth to a child. In other words, the South Korean Government is literally begging its citizens to give birth to a baby, and get a baby gift of $10,500.
That’s an amazing offer from the government, isn’t it?
In a 2022 survey carried out by the Office for Government policy coordination, 36.7 percent of South Korea’s young adults aged between 19—34 expressed no desire to have children! In the same vein, just 4 percent of young South Korean women view marriage and Parenthood as essential in their lives, according to a recent Survey carried out by the Korean Association For Welfare Studies.
So why are a lot of South Korean adults; especially young adults unwilling to even consider having children?
A lot of Social, cultural, economical and personal factors are responsible for this disturbing trend among young South Koreans.
The root of this ‘No baby, please’ problem can be traced back to the very Genesis of the country. South Korea has fought a devastating war with its Northern Neighbor, North Korea. This brutal war, historically known as the Korean war (1950–1953) was the first full blown proxy war of the cold war era.
On one side was; South Korea ( with the massive support of the US and its Western allies). And on the other side was; North Korea ( with the massive support of the Soviet Union, China and other Eastern allies).
The war ended in a Stalement, but left much of the Korean Peninsula in ruins.
However, the South Koreans rose up from the ruins with renewed vigour. And over the succeeding decades, rebuilt their war-torn country, literally from the scratch to emerge as one of the most politically, economically and technologically advanced country by the turn of the 20th century.
This miraculous economic recovery entailed a lot of sacrifices on the part of the South Korean citizens, as they embraced a grueling work-culture, which still persists to date. This utter dedication to work and corporates advancement is so rigid and wide-spread in South Korea today, that it is often said that ‘”Work comes First before Family in South Korea.'”
Little wonder then, that the country has one of the longest working hours among developed countries.
This societal pressure and expectations to “be ahead of everyone else”, and to succeed in the corporate world at all costs, heaped on the shoulders of young adults by a work-obsessed society, means that marriages and child-rearing comes second after work and corporate advancement in the mind of a typical South Korean adult. Especially the young women, who see pregnancy, child birth and rearing as a kind of unnecessary distractions and burdens that they must avoid, if they must keep their jobs.
In fact, most women in South Korea choose not to give birth due to a common held belief among them that ‘Nursing mothers are systematically kicked out of the labour market’ after giving birth. As most companies see Nursing mothers as liabilities.
Moreover, the cost of living is on the rise in South Korea. And as such child-rearing is getting more and more expensive, especially Healthcare and the cost of educating a child. At such, most young adults simply choose not to have children, so as to be free of the added financial responsibility of child rearing.
These, and similar factors has led many experts to express doubts that the bogus financial inducements, being offered by the South Korean Government will achieve much concrete results, if any.
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Perhaps, the South Korean Government should seriously start thinking of granting free visas to the thousands of young able Nigerian men with “Japa” on their minds ( my humble self included.) And start bringing them over to South Korea, to take over the plum ‘job’ of impregnating South Korean women, since their men seem not to be equal to the task.
Trust desperate Nigerian men to even accept a quarter of the $10,500 being offered, or even less. Some will even do the ‘work’ for free, so long as they have finally achieved their life long dream of “japaing” out of Nigeria.
Besides, Nigerian men seem to have a special affinity for that God’s very first commandment to Adam;
“To go ye into the world…and Multiply!”
Just saying though,
I’m outta here,
Ciao!
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