South 

Korea Wants More Babies, Just Not in
These Places
Hundreds of restaurants, museums, cafes and other public establishments
in the country ban children from entering. One lawmaker is pushing to get
rid of the policy.

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A no-kids-allowed sign on the door of a cafe in Seoul. Supporters of the child-free zone policy say it helps
prevent accidents and property damage as well as injuries to young children. Woohae Cho for The New York
Times

By Jin Yu Young

May 16, 2023
阅读简体中文版 • 閱讀繁體中文版 • Leer en español

SEOUL — South Korea has the lowest birthrate in the world, but parents
say the government isn’t making it any easier for them to have children
when hundreds of public facilities across the country are designated “no-
kids zones.”

Earlier this month, a lawmaker took her toddler to the National Assembly
and called on the government to outlaw the policy, which allows
restaurants, museums, cafes and other establishments to ban children
from entering.

In her address, Yong Hye-in, a representative of the Basic Income Party,

said it was becoming more difficult to raise a family in cities that prohibit
children from certain areas. Getting rid of no-kids zones and creating a
society more accepting of children would help the country overcome its
low birthrate, she said.

“Life with a child isn’t easy,” said Ms. Yong while holding her son at the
National Assembly. “But still, we have to recreate a society in which we
can coexist with our children.”

Last year, South Korea had a birthrate of 0.78, according to government

figures. Many young couples in the country are choosing to not have
children because of the rising costs of child care and housing, job scarcity
and growing anxiety about the future. For years, the government has
offered incentives like monthly subsidies worth hundreds of dollars to
families with children but has failed to adequately address the
demographic crisis.

There are hundreds of no-kids zones throughout South Korea. The

National Library of Korea, for example, prohibits anyone under the age of
16 from entering without special permission. (Recently, some places have
also tried to ban seniors, triggering a debate online.)

This is the second time Ms. Yong has appeared at the National Assembly
with her child. In the summer of 2021, she came with her son when he was
only a few weeks old. The National Assembly prohibits anyone other than
assembly members and authorized personnel from entering, and is itself
considered a no-kids zone.

Ms. Yong introduced the “National Assembly Chamber Child Companion

Law” in 2021, calling for infants under 24 months old to be allowed to enter
the legislature’s main floor. The bill has yet to pass.
The National Library in Seoul, on Tuesday. The institution prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from entering
without special permission. Woohae Cho for The New York Times

The debate around where children should and shouldn’t be allowed has
been ongoing for years, and not just in South Korea. Angry travelers have
often asked why airlines don’t introduce seating areas designated for
families with small children.

Several countries, including Australia and the United States, allow

children to enter government buildings. Infants were first allowed onto the
Senate floor in Washington after Senator Tammy Duckworth, whose
presence was needed to confirm a new NASA administrator, gave birth to
a daughter less than two weeks before the vote in 2018.

Stella Creasy, a member of the British Parliament, was chastised in 2021

for bringing her baby to Westminster Hall in London.

Ms. Yong was born in 1990 in Bucheon, a city on the outskirts of Seoul, and
became a lawmaker in 2020. In addition to getting rid of no-kids zones, she
is also planning to introduce legislation that would allow children and their
families to avoid lines at places like museums and amusement parks.

There are almost 3.5 million children under the age of 10 in South Korea,
and over 11,000 public facilities designed for children’s play, according to
government statistics.

Public opinion on child-free zones suggests that most South Koreans

support them. A 2022 survey by Hankook Research, a polling company
based in Seoul, showed that 73 percent of respondents were in favor of no-
kids zones while only 18 percent were against them. (Another 9 percent of
respondents were undecided).

Supporters of the policy say that children can be a disturbance to

Supporters of the policy say that children can be a disturbance to
customers. “I usually go to cafes to study, I don’t want to be interrupted by
crying kids,” Lee Chan-hee, an engineering student in Seoul who frequents
a cafe that prohibits children, said in an interview this week.

Other reasons for supporting the zones include the prevention of accidents
and property damage as well as injuries to young children. Protecting the
rights of small business owners was also a consideration.

But the tide may be changing.

The push to get rid of no-kids zones gained momentum last week when the
health and welfare safety committee on Jeju Island — a popular tourist
destination off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula — deliberated an
ordinance that would abolish no-kids zones island wide.

Lawmakers on the island will hold a session later this month to decide
whether or not to pass the bill. If it passes, it will be the first law of its kind
in South Korea.

Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea and other countries in Asia from the Seoul newsroom.
She joined The Times in 2021. More about Jin Yu Young

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Seoul Wants
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