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The Korea Times

By Lee Hae-rin
Nearly half of Korean adults of child-bearing age believe it is acceptable to go through life without having children, according to a new report.
The findings revealed that the preference for a childless lifestyle was more prevalent among women, particularly those in their twenties, and non-regular workers with unstable employment.
The report was presented at the Population Forum held in Seoul on December 20, organised by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). The survey, conducted by KIHASA, gathered responses from 4,000 men and women aged 19 to 79 nationwide between November 3 and December 6.
Economic conditions such as jobs, housing expenses and child support negatively affect marriage and childbirth
Kim Eun-jung, an associate researcher at KIHASA, which carried out the survey
The results showed that more than half, or 52.6 per cent of the respondents, said they wouldn’t mind not having children, while only 30.2 per cent said having children is better than having none; and 10.3 per cent said they must have one.
The number of women who answered they wouldn’t mind living without children was 63.5 per cent, higher than that of men’s 41.2 per cent.
All in all, the negative attitude towards childbirth was found to be more common among women in their twenties, and the lower income group.
Even if they had a spouse, 69.3 per cent felt negatively about additional birth plans. Among them, 36.2 per cent of them did not have any children. Only 19.2 per cent said they would give birth, while 11.5 per cent said they did not know.
As for the reasons for not having plans to give birth, “age” topped the list with 20.5 per cent, followed by “child care expenses” (18.2 per cent), “economic conditions” (16 per cent) and “because I am not confident in playing the role of parents” (10.3 per cent).

“Economic conditions such as jobs, housing expenses and child support negatively affect marriage and childbirth,” Kim Eun-jung, an associate researcher at KIHASA, said. “It is important to create good jobs, stabilise housing costs and ease the burden of child support costs such as private education costs.”
South Korea’s fertility rate, already the world’s lowest, dropped to a fresh record low in 2023, defying the billions of dollars spent by the country to try to reverse the trend as the population shrank for a fourth straight year.
The average number of expected babies for a South Korean woman during her reproductive life fell to 0.72 from 0.78 in 2022, data from Statistics Korea shows.


This is far below the 2.1 children needed to maintain the current population of 51 million.
Read the full story at The Korea Times. Additional reporting by Reuters


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South Korea has world’s lowest fertility rate, and 65 per cent of women and 41 per cent of men say they could accept a life without children


South Korea has world’s lowest fertility rate, and 65 per cent of women and 41 per cent of men say they could accept a life without children.


Ageing society

Women and gender

Korea Times