A study of parents in Korea, Japan, the United States, France, and Sweden indicates that more than anyone else, Koreans find it especially difficult to raise their children. The Japanese government’s Cabinet Office asked people whether it is easy to have and raise children in their respective countries, and in Korea only 19 percent answered positively, far less than the 48 percent in Japan, 68 percent in France, 78 percent in the U.S., and 98 percent in Sweden. Also, some 70 percent of respondents in Korea and Japan said women are exclusively or almost exclusively given the task of raising children, which is very different from the 90 percent in Sweden who said the work is shared.
These results are of no surprise. As of 2004, Korean women give birth to an average of 1.19 children, very low by global standards. One of the reasons for the low birth rate is that women are avoiding having children because it is so hard to raise them. In fact, everyone in Korea recognizes that it is hard to raise children here. The reason this study is still hard to write off as insignificant is because it shows that the disparity with developed nations is dramatic.
In thinking about policy, it would be worth looking at countries like Spain and Italy, were in 2000 women gave birth to 1.20 and 1.18 children respectively. Experts note that both were relatively conservative societies where women’s rights advanced rapidly, both have a high rate of unemployment among young people, and less than 5 percent of children under the age of 3 are in day care. That is very different from the situation in northern Europe, where the birthrate is relatively high. What the situation in Spain and Italy show you is that the birthrate in Korea is not going to rise until the personal economic burden is lessened by having more women have jobs and through government support, and by having conditions in place where people can simultaneously maintain jobs and rear children. This is an area that requires work and awareness on the part of the government.
The Hankyoreh, 29 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
