Low Birth Rate

Eun-Ji: Hi Mason! I have some good news: my husband and I ar e

expecting a baby.
Mason: Wow! Thats great! Congratulations! I'm happy for you both.

Eun-Ji: Yeah, we just found out yesterday.

Mason: Well, thats wonderful. Do you know if its going t o be a boy or
a girl?
Eun-Ji: Oh, its too early to check for that. Besides, we prefer to let it
remain a mystery about the babys sex .
Mason: I see. Yes, some couples prefer that. When is your due date?

Eun-Ji : The doctor says it will be around October 13th.

Mason: Well, the Korean government will be happy about

your
pregnancy. They are always encouraging young couples to have
more babies.

Eun-Ji: Yeah, but children are so expensive to raise these days. We may
stop after having just one child .

Mason: Hmmm ...maybe you can always

reconsider later on .

Yov a re ov r freasv re.

Whe re are my frien ds?

Who can I play with?
T he low birth rate of South Korea's population has been we~l pu~licized in rec_en
years , but a study publi shed in 2014 indic ates that the situat ion may be d1rer
than anyon e has realized. According to the study , Koreans may go the way
t

of the
dinos aurs by the year 2750, makin g them the f1rst natio nal popul ation to disap
pear
due to a low birth rate. The resea rch was commissioned by the liberal New Politi
cs
Alliance for Democracy party and carried out by the National Assembly Resea
rch
Service. The fmal repor t includ ed the following stark concl usion s and projections
:
• Korea's 2013 fertility rate of 1.19 per women is far below the rate of 2 .1, the
neces sary level to susta in the population.
• The City of Busa n, with its rapidly-aging popul ation will see its last resid
ent
born in 2413 .
• The last Korean survivor in Seoul will be born in 2505.
• The last Korean anywhere in the world will be born in 2621 .
• The natio n's curre nt popul ation of 50 million will drop to 40 million by 2056
and to 20 million by 2100.
The repor t followed the work of earlie r studi es. Popu lation exper t David
Coleman, of Oxford University, stated in 2006 that Korea's low fertility rate
was a
threa t to the existe nce of the count ry. A study in Japa n in 2012 predi cted that
the
last Japan ese child would be born in 3011. .
Critic s of the repor t stated that the projections were alarm ist and did not take
into accou nt the gover nmen t's efforts to reverse the trend of low birth rates
, the
possible reuni on with North Korea, and poten tial chang es in Korea's immi gratio
n
policies.
 Discussion
1. Why has Korea shifted from a culture of having many children to a
trend where having either one child or no children is becoming more
common?
2. Do you think having fewer children in Korea is a good thing or a bad
thing? Why? How many children do you desire to have in the future?
3. How do you think the declining birth rate in Korea might affect your
generation's future and the overall fabric of Korean society?
4. What personal things could affect your thoughts about having a family
in the future, considering how many babies are being born in Korea
right now?
 Definition
1. Pay off: To yield positive results or benefits as a result of investing effort, time, or
resources in a particular endeavor.
2. Settle down: To choose a more stable and less transient lifestyle, typically
involving starting a family or committing to a long-term relationship.
3. To be on the safe side: To take precautionary measures or make conservative
choices to minimize potential risks or problems.
4. To look forward to (something): To feel anticipation, excitement, or eagerness
about an upcoming event or experience.
5. Hold off on: To delay or postpone a decision, action, or activity until a later time,
often to gather more information or assess the situation further.
6. Easier said than done: Refers to something that sounds simple in theory but is
actually challenging in practice.
 Examples
1. Pay off: Jane's diligent studying paid off when she received top grades and earned a scholarship
to her dream college.
2. Settle down: After years of travel, Mark decided it was time to settle down, get married, and
start a family in his hometown.
3. To be on the safe side: Even though the car had been running fine, Maria decided to get it
checked by a mechanic, just to be on the safe side.
4. To look forward to (something): Sarah had been studying diligently for months, and she was
really looking forward to the moment when she would receive her well-deserved diploma at the
graduation ceremony.
5. Hold off on: The manager decided to hold off on implementing the new company policy until
they could gather feedback from all the employees to ensure it was fair and effective.
6. Easier said than done: While everyone encouraged him to start his own business, he soon
realized that managing it was easier said than done, as he faced numerous challenges and
obstacles along the way.