In the 1980s, East Asian governments rejoiced as they observed a decrease in birth rates among women entering their 40s. Among these, South Korean women saw a substantial decline in the number of children they were having, from 4.5 in 1970 to 1.7 on average. Policymakers across the region had successfully reduced teenage pregnancies, leading to a remarkable decline in birth rates over just one generation.
However, despite this progress, the trend of declining birth rates continued unabated. Today, a South Korean woman entering her childbearing years is expected to have only 0.7 children on average if she follows the example set by older generations. The government of South Korea has invested billions of dollars in incentives for increasing the birth rate, including tax breaks for parents, maternity care, and state-sponsored dating programs.
Despite these efforts to encourage women to have more children, officials are struggling to reverse the trend of declining birth rates. The challenge of convincing women to have more children rather than fewer has proven much more difficult than anticipated. South Korean officials are now trying to regain some of the “missing” births that have contributed to the country’s low birth rate by implementing new policies aimed at addressing societal attitudes towards motherhood and family planning.
