Part 1
Ahn, Ashley. "South Korea has the World’s Lowest Fertility Rate, A Struggle with Lessons for Us All." NPR, 19 March 2023, www.npr.org/2023/03/19/1163341684/south-korea-fertility-rate
In this article, Ahn discusses the current fertility rate crisis that South Korea is facing, and the factors that have contributed to this phenomenon. According to the data, South Korea is experiencing the world’s lowest fertility rate since 2013 with a rate of 0.78; far from the stable rate of 2.1 required for a sustainable population. Ahn suggests that lack of affordable housing, confining gender norms, and systemic flaws in supporting motherhood are the main culprits behind the crisis.
Allard, Emily Standley. “The 4B Movement in Korea is Causing the Birthrate to Drop - Will Other Countries Follow?” MSN, 21 February 2024, www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/the-4b-movement-in-korea-is-causing-the-birthrate-to-drop-will-other-countries-follow/ar-BB1iEHs2
In this article, the author explains how South Korean women are currently protesting against the patriarchy and gender issues with the 4B Movement, and its correlation with the country’s low birth rate. Standley explains, “The drop in South Korea’s fertility rate over the past few years results from the ‘4B Movement,’ with the B’s representing the Korean words bihon, bichulsan, biyeonae, and bisekseu for marriage, childbirth, dating, and sex respectively.” This movement is a direct response to the lack of government initiative in addressing gender-based issues and violence against women. South Korean women are not only challenging the patriarchal system, but choosing to disengage from their confining roles. Standley further explains that South Korea signals a trending rise in the fight for gender equality and government initiative all across the world.
Bae, Gawon and Lendon Brad. “South Korea to see population plummet to 1970s levels, government says.” CNN, 15 December 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/12/15/asia/south-korea-to-see-population-plummet-intl-hnk/index.html
In this article, Bae and Lendon provide multiple statistics to explain the severity of the low fertility rate crisis that South Korea is currently facing. The authors compare South Korea’s rates with the rest of the world, and emphasizes that South Korea is far from the stable 2.1 fertility rate as it is barely projected to hit the rate of 1.08 in 2072. With the low fertility rate, the projected median age and population size is directly correlated and raises concerns for the country’s future.
Cho, Kyung Ae. "Korea’s low birth rate issue and policy directions." Korean J Women Health Nurs 27.1 (2021): 6-9.
Cho’s study on Korea’s low birth rate provides historical context and population surveys to explain the current phenomenon occurring in South Korea. Surveys display that women are more inclined to stay childless and feel deterred from motherhood due to financial concerns. Cho explains how government policies have failed to target reproductive and gender rights in hopes to solve the population crisis, and suggest that policies have to incur structural change and not regulation. Cho argues that the low fertility rate is a result of socio-economic factors that can be targeted with the proper government direction.
Data Commons 2024, Data Commons, viewed 21 Feb 2024, https://datacommons.org/place/country/KOR?category=Demographics
This website presents statistical data about South Korea’s total fertility rate, marriage rate, population growth rate, and population distribution. Particular data seems to have direct correlation with others, and provides an insight on how other aspects of population are impacted by the low fertility rate. The data is also presented alongside other countries and their data to provide comparisons and relative differences between South Korea and the rest of the world.
Jung, Hawon. “Women in South Korea Are on Strike Against Being ‘Baby-Making
Machines.’” New York Times, 27 January 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/opinion/south-korea-fertility-rate-feminism.html
Hawon Jung is an author of “Flowers of Fire”, a book about Korea’s #MeToo movement, and provides her opinion on the low fertility rate crisis in South Korea. Jung discusses how women do not feel incentivized to raise children in the patriarchal society, and criticizes the South Korean president for blaming feminism for the crisis. She explains how government initiatives to combat the crisis fail to address the patriarchal flaws and only serve to mitigate parts of the problem. South Korean President, Yoon Suk-Yeol, shifts the blame on feminism and fuels mens’ rights advocates, condemning the 4B movement instead of the patriarchal flaws in the system.
Kim Ji-Young: Born in 1982. Directed by Bo-young Kim, performances by Yu-mi Jung, Gong Yoo, Bong-ryun Lee, and Mi-Kyung Kim, Lotte Entertainment, 2019
Kim Ji-Young: Born in 1982 is a film adaptation of the novel written by Nam-Ju Cho with the same respective title, and has been a subject of controversy in South Korea. The novel and film highlight the flaws in South Korea’s patriarchal society, and the challenges women face in the household and workplace during motherhood through the main character, Kim Ji-Young. Ji-Young is struggling to transition into her new identity in motherhood, and is overwhelmed with the direction of her life and develops a mental illness. Gender-based issues such as hidden cameras, workplace harassment and gender discrimination, and gender norms are one of many challenges that the character faces. The film provides a deep insight and visual perspective of motherhood in a patriarchal society.
Kim, Sam. “South Korea Expects Its Already-World’s-Lowest Fertility Rate to Keep
Falling.” Times, 23 December 2023,
https://time.com/6488894/south-korea-low-fertility-rate-trend-decline/
Kim addresses the future concerns regarding the low fertility rate in South Korea, and its impacts on the country’s future. With the projected fertility rate, the country will face a shrinking workforce, a decline in eligible males for the military, and an unsustainable population.
Kim, Max. “One sign of South Korea’s population crisis: Rural elementary schools are running out of children.” Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2023, www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-08/south-korea-population-crisis-rural-schools-running-out-children
Kim discusses the recent problems due to South Korea’s low fertility rate through an anecdotal story. Eun-sook Lee, an elementary school principal, shares her experience with how the country’s population crisis has impacted the classrooms in rural parts of South Korea. With lower population densities and population flights to Seoul, rural areas are the first to experience the impacts of the country’s low birth rates. Schools located in these areas are facing closure and defunding due to empty classrooms, and there is a domino effect of closures occurring within these rural cities. Parents worry about the lack of socialization with the scarcity of children in schools, and raise concerns for their children’s educational futures. Lee’s efforts to save her school are joined with the government’s efforts to bring citizens back to rural areas in order to save these schools from closing down.
Kim, Min Joo. “How much is a baby worth? A $75,000 bonus, this South Korean firm says.” The Washington Post, 16 February 2024, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/16/south-korea-birth-rate-fertility/
Lee, Michelle Ye Hee. “South Korea, a nation of rigid gender norms, meets its changemakers.” The Washington Post, 21 February 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/21/south-korea-women-gender-equality-gap/#
LmaoImagineThinking. “No one talks about the real reason to Korea's low birth rate.” Reddit, 05 January 2023, https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/104hna1/no_one_talks_about_the_real_reason_to_koreas_low/
In this subReddit forum, r/Korea, an online community of individuals discuss South Korea’s low fertility rate and provides an insight on how Redditors feel about the country’s population crisis. Users discuss the societal flaws in postpartum care, maternity leave, and lack of incentives for raising a family. The forum also displays conflicting perspectives and arguments for the contributing factors. Some users argue that South Korea is facing problems similar to that of other countries, but are simply hit harder. Others argue that there are cultural factors that deter motherhood in South Korea.
Rashid, Rafael. “Foreign maids and no military service: South Korea criticised over ideas to boost birthrate.” The Guardian, 29 March 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/30/foreign-maids-and-no-military-service-south-korea-criticised-over-ideas-to-boost-birthrate
Seo, Seung Hyun. "Low fertility trend in the Republic of Korea and the problems of its family and demographic policy implementation." Population and Economics 3.2 (2019): 29-35.
Shin, Ji-Hye. “South Korea’s birth rate again hits historic low.” The Korea Herald, 8 December 2023, www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231208000534
Song, Ju-Eun, et al. "Factors related to low birth rate among married women in Korea." PLoS one 13.3 (2018): e0194597.
Sussman, Anna Louie. “A World Without Men The women of South Korea’s 4B
movement aren’t fighting the patriarchy — they’re leaving it behind entirely.” The Cut,
8 March 2023, www.thecut.com/2023/03/4b-movement-feminism-south-korea.html
Louie’s article provides an anecdotal insight into why South Korean women feel inclined to join feminist movements such as the “escape the corset” and the controversial 4B movement. South Korean women are participating in the 4B Movement which rejects heterosexual dating, marriage, sex, and childbirth in response to the patriarchal system. Women are tired of gender-based violence and discrimination, and are disengaging with the patriarchy by participating in the 4B Movement. The article also provides an opposing perspective of “Ilbe”, an anti-feminist group that suggests that women benefit from a patriarchal society.
Sussman, Anna Louie. “The Real Reason South Koreans Aren’t Having Babies.”. The Atlantic, 21 March 2023, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/south-korea-fertility-rate-misogyny-feminism/673435/
Yoon, Min-sik. “Regional governments roll out measures to boost birth rate.” The Korea Herald, 24 December 2023, www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiprdvBrb6EAxX3KkQIHeicCBQQFnoECC0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.koreaherald.com%2Fview.php%3Fud%3D20231220000834&usg=AOvVaw31-sXbz7Gg5pFRgi1uOw2f&opi=89978449
“Do Koreans Not Want To Have Babies Anymore? | Street Interview” Youtube, uploaded by Asian Boss, 25 September 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw-ZQ46rLSA
In this YouTube video, Asian Boss interviews South Korean individuals on the streets and asks for their thoughts regarding the country’s low fertility rate and their opinions on the contributing factors. Several women shared the same sentiments regarding the restrictions of motherhood and the financial burden of raising children. South Korean men also chimed in to state how raising children requires substantial financial stability as private education and housing is an important factor in providing opportunities for their children to succeed. Through these anecdotal interviews, it provides an insight and perspective into the multi-faceted problem within South Korea.
Part 2
South Korea is facing a population crisis as its total fertility rate has dropped once again, and has taken the undesirable place as the lowest rate in the world. With the death cross, where the death rate surpasses the birth rate, the country is forced to contend with a declining population, median age distribution, and a declining workforce. The crisis has opened up floodgates for countless problems and sparked discourse about the flaws in the patriarchal system. Despite government initiatives, South Korea continues to show projection for decline. What are the causes and consequences of this crisis and how are they unique to South Korea?
Prior to researching this topic of study, I had a shallow understanding of the situation. I was aware that South Korea was facing a population crisis as the young population does not feel inclined to raise children and families, yet alone marry. As a young individual myself, it was easy to recognize and sympathize with the general public. I understood that poor financial prospects, and lack of support for motherhood were main contributing factors to the crisis, but I was surprised to see the extent of the underlying issues.
I felt inclined to research the topic of South Korea’s low fertility rate after recently reading about the “4B Movement”, a feminist movement that rejects heterosexual dating, marriage, sex, and childbirth in direct response to the patriarchal system in South Korea. The extremity of this movement pushed me to learn more about the cause and impact of this movement in South Korea. I was aware of the controversial image of feminism in South Korea as “Kim Ji-Young: Born in 1982” caused outrage in the country as men felt that the novel was a victimizing piece of work.
One of the surprising findings was the “Ilbe”, an anti-feminist forum that exists to villainize feminism and advocate for mens’ rights. These individuals feel that women are trying to gain “more” privileges in society through the 4B movement. These men believe that women benefit from a patriarchal society because they are exempt from the country’s compulsory military service, and have more benefits than disadvantages in society. This finding was incredibly insightful in understanding the opposing perspectives against feminism since compulsory military service is a factor that is somewhat unique to South Korea. It allowed me to understand the nuances behind the prevalent socio-economic issues in the country. However, it is difficult for me to empathize with the far-right organization.
Another intriguing finding was about the government and its stance on the population crisis. I had heard about the government initiatives to incentivize motherhood and family planning, but had little knowledge of the current South Korea's President’s stance on the crisis. I did not expect President Yoon Suk-Yeol to shift the blame from socio-economic factors to feminism for the decline in the birth rate. It feels counterproductive to blame the individuals who are part of the only solution to the crisis. This finding pushed me to explore more of the government policy and initiatives currently in place to revive the birth rate.
My research on the birth rate crisis has also opened my eyes to the multi-faceted problems that will occur in the future. I did not think to consider the threat of national security if less men are eligible for the military in the future, and the lack of socialization and schooling in rural areas, and the exposure of systemic flaws through this population crisis. Although the birth rate is a topic of concern, it seems that this issue is a crack in an already fractured system. Further research on this topic has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of future government initiatives and the demand for change.
Moving forward, I feel inclined to write an informational essay regarding the low birth rate in South Korea and the several events correlated with the crisis. I believe that providing a deep dive into the socio-economic issues in South Korea, and the unique circumstances that impact the country will allow outsiders to understand how South Korea got to its current crisis. The informational essay would highlight the gender-based violence, the government policies, and the up and coming concerns for the low birth rate. I think providing an objective explanation of the situation would be interesting because it would open a floor for further discussion. I found that learning and reading about differing perspectives ignited a growing interest in the subject matter, and providing an informational essay to further push for a space that allows that space is tempting.