South Korea's population crisis: why is nobody getting married or having babies?

South Korea recently recorded the world's lowest birth rate at 0.72 and there are new articles being written about our population crisis every week. Why is it so hard to get married these days and why is nobody wanting to have babies? I also touch on some wedding customs that are unique to Korea.

Join my channel to get access to exclusive perks!

Donate & support the channel!

BUSINESS ENQUIRIES

FOLLOW
@jyannalee on Instagram & TikTok

Use my Olive Young discount code: ANNALEE1

[anna.lee_jy]

Seriously, what is the solution...? 🥲
Follow me on insta and tiktok @jyannalee

[tsc]

Every time I see this discussion what comes to my mind is: It's hard to make animals in captivity reproduce.

[maximstepinac]

You forgot to mention the work hours. You can't be a parent if your job requires you ro work so many hours daily.

[dreadpiratemikey]

Bottom line, our modern societies need to be simpler and more enjoyable. Working hard is a good thing, but there are limits.

[lho]

The incredible spike in housing costs has led to a lot of this. Governments worldwide need to do more to tackle this problem.

[jmseipp]

When I was in South Korea in the early 1990’s there were tv commercials pleading with couples to have FEWER children due to South Korea’s overpopulation explosion! Picture this: There’s a map of South Korea on the floor and there are hundreds of people desperately trying to find a space to stand within the borders of the map. They are frantic, trying so hard to be able to stand within the lines of the map. It’s like a desperate, frantic version of playing ‘Musical Chairs.’ Such a small space and too many people! So overcrowded! That’s what the tv commercials showed when I was there three times in the early 1990’s. 1990 - 1992 to be exact. They were really discouraging couples from having kids back then!

[alakazam]

I think it all boils down to money. If I’m still worried about going homeless, how in the hell can I think of romance and making babies? Give more people livable wages and maybe they’d give kids a second thought.

[oolieboolieyeah]

Because being broke and under constant pressure is stressful and unpleasant. Who would willingly make a bad situation worse for themselves? It's pretty obvious really.

[Nezzeraj]

The real problem isn't the declining population, it's that a capitalist economy can't handle a declining population. Everyone is focused on changing society to fit a bad economic system rather than changing the economy to adapt to society.

[mshepard]

The reason is the same in the US. If both husband and wife have to work 50+ hours a week to get by and daycare cost 25-30k a year what do you expect. worker productivity and gdp growth are pursued at the expense of all else.

[silverstar]

Young people in their 20’s and early 30’s can’t afford to marry, have apartments/houses and to have kids. There is too much pressure in the society to succeed. Only those who come from families who are well off can do all these because they can hire housekeepers and nannys unless the grandparents are willing to help out. Also, people want to find love and want to find partners who have the same mindset for their lives and goals.

[otojantenei]

Hi Anna, I thoroughly went through all the points you mentioned in your video, and I couldn't agree more. However, I think the main problem lies in South Korea's approach to its economy. I am not a Korean person, but as someone who has a fair share of interest in global economic issues, I would say how the economy works for this country is somewhat in a weird position right now. There is a very rapidly growing inflation caused by the imbalance in the concentration and distribution of money in the population. Now, anyone would say, "Oh, that's a problem in every country." and YES, it is so. However, where things become interesting is how the country deals with the demands of the population, but it seems that there is an almost intentional appreciation towards this inflation.

Let me explain with an example you already pointed out: the price of a house. This issue has a lot more factors than what meets the eye. If we notice the urbanization of the country, it is mainly concentrated within the country's capital, which is a critical player in the constantly spiked prices of houses and accommodations. The landmass of the country is far from being saturated considering its current population, so if the economic units get more scattered throughout the nation, it is more likely that the population density will become more balanced, which would significantly reduce the accommodation costs and also will provide psychological comfort to people and encourage them more to start a family. However, it seems that such steps are less likely to be taken because the country wants to prevail in the social competitiveness that you mentioned in your video. But where there is excessive competition, harmony is little to be found.

I could discuss more points, but I don't want this comment to be overwhelmingly long. I've noticed that your channel has an intellectually curious audience, so I thought I'd share a snippet of my knowledge and understanding.

[himanshugupta]

I think what's happening in Korea is happening across many Asian countries. I am from India and I can related each and every part from marriage customs & cultural setup

[weirjf]

It’s not simply “lack of money”, it’s lack of affordable housing, healthcare, and higher education. When the cost of living is so high, and the average person is just treading water.
As in: people make more money than ever before, but landlords and market monopolies have crushed consumers, and governments are led by those financially invested in the current system.

Super interesting insight on South Korea. Thank you for making this video!

[lakenneth]

The 75% South Korea movie, "Past Lives" when asked the Korean guy why he isn`t married - I have an ordinary job that pays an ordinary salary; therefore, struggling with the question of marriage.

[dimitristripakis]

Romantic love is wonderful and definitely true, but you need to create it yourself, not wait to just happen spontaneously. However, if the prospect of living with her forever is bleak because of financials, it is a huge turn off. Like, "why drag her into a miserable life".

[arundhatifit]

This is definitely becoming a global issue now.

[justSTUMBLEDupon]

Remember there was a time when we was super worried about over population?

[dtyn]

I'm from Singapore where we also have one of the world's lowest birthrate after SK. We do not have the marriage traditions and customs, so for Singapore the main factor would be the astronomical cost of living.
Another factor is also the education level of the population, especially women. Today's women are far more educated than their mothers and grandmothers and have more options in life than just a wife/mother. If you do a survey between rural and urban areas of a country, it is also highly likely that the women in the city are higher educated in general and have fewer children. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% supportive of higher education for women, and my wife and I have no kids by choice (we are 53 this year)!