IS KOREAN LOW BIRTHRATE A CASE OF CONCERN?

Is Korean low birthrate a case of concern? Is it really a problem or just something government
officials talk about. Before we talk about Korean birthrate, we should know first why we do we
need to tackle this kind of problem, should we really be concerned about it? Or shall we just let it
go and let it fix itself? We people, should know that countries only work if it has an economy.
Having a low economy also means high jobless people rate. Then how is it connected to the topic
you may ask? Well as you can see our life here on earth is not forever, we could die any moment
and anytime. You see people that could live for long years also can’t be here forever, but the
most important thing is the job and the people to the country. A country without a people is not a
country. If a country let a low birthrate and don’t do anything about it the country could collapse
on itself since no workforce within it and people are getting older and dying and newborn are so
little in population. Without middle age people and newborns who are getting ready to hold a
position in the country in the future, the country would not survive it. Now let’s go back about
the Korean Birthrate. According to the census data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety, in
2020, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births for the first time. The Minister quoted
“he rapidly declining birthrate, the government needs to undertake fundamental changes to its
relevant policies.” You see what I mean earlier that without people taking positions in the future
country would not survive since the country only holds old people and death rate is going up.
Also, The Bank of Korea said a statement that “a negative impact on the nation’s marriage and
birthrate, leading to an acceleration of aging in the population” If so, what does the Korean
government do? Well, the Korean government actually has some kind of plan to solve the low
birthrate problem here are the plans:
The First Basic Plan (2006-10) introduced measures to promote work/life balance, provided
financial support for childcare for low-income families and strengthened employees’ rights for
maternity and parental leave. In addition, it provided financial assistance for infertility treatment
and medical assistance for pregnant women.
The Second Basic Plan (2011-15) included the introduction of free childcare services for all
families regardless of their income level. However, capacity did not increase sufficiently to
accommodate all children, forcing some to rely on more expensive private care. Still, public
spending on early childhood education and care increased from 0.1% in 2001 to 1.0% by 2016, a
figure exceeded by only the Nordic countries and France.
The Third Basic Plan (2016-20) aimed to boost families’ standard of living by addressing the
high cost of housing and education. In addition, a child allowance of KRW 100,000 (USD 75)
per month per child up to age six was introduced in 2018.