this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2024
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Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even less want kids (www.thestar.com.my)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 59 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Policy makers: "Why won't they have babies?!? We need more babies the whole system will collapse! We must urgently do something! But what? What ever should we do??? We've tried EVERYTHING! We even give them straight cash if they have a kid! This is the greatest mystery of our time!"

The population in nearly perfect unanimous voice: "Work life balance is shit and we can't afford to have kids, neither time wise nor monetarily"

Policy makers: "Such an enigma, truly so mysterious, woe is us, evil evil selfish young people that don't have kids!"

...

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago (1 children)

korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. It's not worth to bring a soul to experience this misery we can hardly endure.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Highest among prosperous nations sure, but if we look to the whole world Korea does not have close to the highest rates of suicide.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Policy makers: .... come on! .... we need your children to replace you and your slave wages to keep our investors wealthy.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Keep on making it economically unfeasible..

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Meh. After 10 years I finally got married to my partner. Not because we ever planned to or cared, but because older family wanted to put money in for it. So as far as we were concerned, we had an awesome party with a brief annoying document signing in it. Would've rather we got to use the money on something that actually mattered though.

I don't even remember what date the wedding anniversary is. Some time in October. March 6 is the real anniversary of our first date and that's the only one we care about.

[–] ArbitraryValue 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Except that lower-income people have more children, both globally and within South Korea.

[–] otp 3 points 5 months ago

Often because kids are either free labour (e.g. on the farm, working jobs to help the family, etc) or are "insurance"/"an investment" (hoping they'll make a kid who can support them with a good job in the future).

Where you don't need help tending a farm or something, child labour is illegal, and one's educated enough to know that their poor kids are more likely to grow up to be just as poor and thus not a "smart"/"safe" investment, it means that people will generally be less likely to have kids.

Most people live in cities in South Korea, where it'd usually be economically unfeasible to have kids.

I believe that education, particularly for women, tends to reduce the desire to have kids. Women without education may be less likely to envision alternative futures for themselves aside from being a wife and a mother. In South Korea in particular, it can be hard to be both a mother and a worker, particularly on the economics side of things.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

This may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that birthrate is declining due to unaffordability.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Fewer

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's a comparison, what's wrong with less

[–] otp 19 points 5 months ago (2 children)

"Less" is usually for non-countable objects, while "fewer" is for countable.

"Less slime" vs. "Fewer bees"

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (2 children)

The comparison in this case is operating on the word half, not on the subject of the sentence:

Only half want to get married, even less [than half] want kids.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago

It could actually go either way, based on the title:

Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even less [than half] want kids

Or

Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even fewer [South Koreans] want kids

I'm inclined to lean toward the second. "Even less than half" sounds a lot clunkier than "even fewer South Koreans," so it's not surprising other readers assumed the latter.

[–] otp 2 points 5 months ago

You're definitely right!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

TIL. Mildly interesting. Now I know fewer less knowledge.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I wish the article explained why people were against getting married? Like, kids, as a father, I get it.

But for marriage, is it just seen as an unnecessary formality? Is it about an aversion to long term relationships? Is there a cultural perception that you must have kids if you get married and people want to avoid a married-no-children stigma?

[–] otp 24 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I believe it's a situation where the men tend to want traditional stay-at-home wives to raise their kids, but the women either want to work, or the men don't make enough to support a stay-at-home wife and raise a kid on their single income (because it can be really expensive relative to wages).

I've read that there's a lot of... misogyny/anti-feminism movement stuff going on in Korea these days.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

There's an absolute ton of anti-feminism, to the point where companies actively fire feminists if there's a stink raised and make statements that the company doesn't share feminist views. Yes, it's that fucked.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not south korean but for me marriage just seems weird. Why should the government be involved at all in my relationship? Why would I do a bunch of paperwork and pay money to get a document that offers very few benefits and could one day become a pain in the ass if my partner and I grow apart for some reason?

If a partner cares about marriage there is nothing keeping me from swapping rings with them and doing a ceremony but I see no reason to get the government involved.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Doesn't it give certain benefits? In the Netherlands there is some tax benefit, custody for the children is easier to arange (both in divorce and if a mother dies before the children are 18) and a bunch of other stuff.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Marriage in Korea is a much "heavier" prospect in regards to expectations of mutual support and combining resources, as well as purchasing a house and stuff.

If you're not planning on doing any of that there's no reason to get married, even if you're not planning on dating anyone else but your current partner.

Plus just dating in Korea is hard. I know multiple people who only see their significant other maybe once every few months. Dating and married

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I'm not Korean. Can someone list a single benefit to being married in this modern age that isnt just a counter to a cultural or legal failing? ie: being allowed to visit your s/o in the hospital.