A recent study found that two-thirds of young Koreans think marriage and having children are more scary than happy.
Image of a family of four in Seoul, South Korea on February 23 - Photo: YONHAP
According to the Korea Herald on March 11, up to two-thirds of young Koreans have a negative attitude towards marriage and having children. They think that life is more scary than happy.
Young Koreans fear marriage for financial reasons
The study was based on about 500,000 posts from December 2017 to November 2023 on Blind - a community platform for young workers in this country.
Specifically, when talking about marriage, 32.3% of posts expressed sadness, 24.6% expressed fear, and 10.2% expressed disgust. Meanwhile, the percentage showing happiness was only 9.3%.
Similar trends were observed for childbirth and parenting. More than 60% of childbirth-related posts expressed negative emotions, with disgust accounting for 23.8%, fear 21.3%, and sadness 15.3%.
Nearly 70% of parenting posts share a similar sentiment.
Notably, the study also showed that financial issues are a major concern for young people when it comes to marriage and having children.
The keyword money appeared in nearly 30% of posts about marriage and 13.2% of posts about childbirth. Additionally, nearly 60% of posts about marriage focused on preparation and conditions for marriage, while nearly 20% of posts about childbirth mentioned financial support.
Another survey by the Office for Government Policy Coordination of 15,000 respondents aged 19-34 also found that negative perceptions about marriage and childbearing are increasing.
In 2024, only 63.1% of young people said they were ready to get married, down 12% from two years ago. The proportion wanting to have children also fell 4% to 59.3%.
South Korea strives to boost birth rate
Marriage and childbirth are increasingly making the young generation of South Korea fearful and anxious - Photo: REUTERS
Recently, South Korea has shown signs of a slight recovery in its birth rate. However, the Korea Population Future Research Institute (KPPIF) warns that this increase may only be temporary, due to the background effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and cannot be concluded in the near future.
Ms. Yoo Hye Jeong, director of the population research center at KPPIF, called on the government to have stronger policies to support young people to overcome financial difficulties and balance work and family life to maintain the recovery momentum of the birth rate.
Faced with this situation, on March 11, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang Mok announced a series of support policies for young couples or those planning to get married.
Accordingly, families with at least three children will be given priority at the airport when traveling abroad. The government will also expand its low-cost public housing policy to more newlyweds or couples with young children.
In addition, the Seoul government and local governments will launch a pilot program in May in which about 5,000 seniors will take part in taking their children to and from school and kindergarten, in order to meet the high demand for childcare services and help parents reduce the pressure of going to work.
South Korea is currently facing two major challenges: an extremely low birth rate and an aging population.
Previously, in December 2024, South Korea officially became a "super-aged society". More than 20% of the country's population is 65 years old or older.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/2-3-gioi-tre-han-quoc-thay-so-khi-nhac-den-hon-nhan-20250312172445223.htm
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