Amid the worsening low birthrate in South Korea, a recent survey revealed that less than 40% of the younger population is willing to have children. Only 37.8% of men and women aged 20 to 49 expressed a desire to have children, while 42.6% stated they had no intention to do so, and 19.6% were undecided.
Among those who were not inclined to have children, 44.1% indicated they might reconsider if government policies and corporate support were significantly expanded.
The Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future, in collaboration with the polling agency Embrain, conducted an in-depth survey on marriage and childbirth among 2,000 men and women nationwide aged 20 to 49. The results showed that 87% of respondents viewed the low birthrate issue as severe, up from 82% last year.
The survey also found that 53.2% of 1,164 unmarried men and women expressed a willingness to get married. Meanwhile, 27.4% had no intention of marrying, and 19.4% were unsure. A higher percentage of women (34.6%) than men (21.5%) indicated they had no intention of getting married.
When asked why they were reluctant to marry, men cited economic instability (20.1%), the belief that they would be happier living alone (18.9%), and difficulty meeting the practical conditions for marriage (15.8%) as their top reasons.
On the other hand, women pointed to the belief that they would be happier living alone (17.6%), the prevalence of patriarchy and gender inequality (16.2%), and the concern that they might not meet someone they want to marry (12.4%).
Regarding childbirth, 42.6% of respondents stated they had no intention of having children. More women (52.9%) than men (33.1%) expressed this sentiment. By age group, the reluctance to have children was highest among those in their 40s (63.9%), followed by those in their 30s (35.2%) and 20s (23.6%).
Women who did not wish to have children cited a lack of necessity (13.9%), insufficient financial resources for childcare (12.7%), and the high cost of education (10.7%) as their main reasons. Men, on the other hand, pointed to job insecurity (17.9%), financial difficulties in raising children (16.0%), and a lack of necessity for having children (10.5%).
Nevertheless, many respondents indicated that they might change their stance on marriage or childbirth if government policies and corporate support were enhanced. Among the 544 unmarried respondents who were not inclined to marry, 38.6% said they could reconsider if there were more support from the government and corporations. Conversely, 61.4% said they would remain unmarried regardless of such support.
Similarly, among the 1,245 respondents who did not wish to have children, 44.1% indicated they might reconsider if there were significant improvements in government and corporate support. However, 55.9% stated they would maintain their decision not to have children, regardless of any policy changes.
In terms of preferred government support measures for addressing the low birthrate, “expanding parental leave and salary support” received the highest score of 73.4 out of 100. This was followed by “monthly child allowance and parental benefits” (70.5), “reduced medical expenses for children” (68.4), “childcare support programs” (68.3), and “increasing the number of public daycare centers and kindergartens” (63.7).
As for corporate support policies, “Subsudies for child education” (72.0), “childcare cost support” (70.7), “automatic parental leave policies” (69.9), “reduced working hours for parents” (69.0), and “mandatory paternity leave” (68.8) were rated highly.
An official from the Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future commented, “The effectiveness of policies varies depending on the public’s perception of childbirth. While direct financial support may temporarily boost birthrates, long-term recovery requires policies addressing deep-rooted social and structural issues.”
