The article is pretty clear what the real problem is—they have insane work hours and women are expected to do near 100% of child rearing meaning they have to give up their career with the crazy hours.
What woman would want to have a baby if it means she’s effectively forced to quit her job and become a single parent (since the other parent will still be working 10 hour days followed by all night drinking benders with their bosses)?
Edit: just want to acknowledge that I’m not implying all Korean men are trying to be shit dads, but rather that the work culture HEAVILY encourages after hours socialization which means that even after the long workday he still isn’t going home to help.
The only way to boost fertility rates is to encourage strong social bonds beyond just two people who may or may not want to have kids. People with a strong social and familial circle are far more likely to have kids. Governments need to encourage third spaces and social interaction. Housing policy needs to encourage families to live within a few miles of each other.
Things that kill fertility are those things that socially isolate us, for example a mass migration from rural to urban centers like South Korea has seen.
South Korea's subsidies and allowances do not strengthen the need to depend on each other. In fact they do the opposite, they strengthen dependance on a system rather than a dependance on relationships. As such they cannot meaningfully help boost the numbers. They are nice perks for those who have kids, and make life easier, but they won't move the numbers up very much.
DeviantDork | 18 hours ago
The article is pretty clear what the real problem is—they have insane work hours and women are expected to do near 100% of child rearing meaning they have to give up their career with the crazy hours.
What woman would want to have a baby if it means she’s effectively forced to quit her job and become a single parent (since the other parent will still be working 10 hour days followed by all night drinking benders with their bosses)?
Edit: just want to acknowledge that I’m not implying all Korean men are trying to be shit dads, but rather that the work culture HEAVILY encourages after hours socialization which means that even after the long workday he still isn’t going home to help.
TheDuckFarm | 18 hours ago
The only way to boost fertility rates is to encourage strong social bonds beyond just two people who may or may not want to have kids. People with a strong social and familial circle are far more likely to have kids. Governments need to encourage third spaces and social interaction. Housing policy needs to encourage families to live within a few miles of each other.
Things that kill fertility are those things that socially isolate us, for example a mass migration from rural to urban centers like South Korea has seen.
South Korea's subsidies and allowances do not strengthen the need to depend on each other. In fact they do the opposite, they strengthen dependance on a system rather than a dependance on relationships. As such they cannot meaningfully help boost the numbers. They are nice perks for those who have kids, and make life easier, but they won't move the numbers up very much.