South Korea breaks its own record for world’s lowest fertility rate

Article: Even foreign media is surprised… Korea breaks its own record for lowest birth rate in the world “despite money being poured into issue”

Source: Insight via Instagram

1. [+859] It doesn’t matter how much money the government throws at the problem if they don’t fix the fundamental policies under all of it. There are still women who have to hide their pregnancies from their workplaces… Who cares if civil servants get maternity leave when the rest of us in corporate jobs risk losing our desks the minute anyone finds out that we’re pregnant…

2. [+959] We’ve just reached a mindset of “I’d rather live comfortably than have a child and struggle”. We live in a country where the cost of everything but out wages are on the rise… It would hurt my lips to have to speak on all the issues stemming from that.

3. [+138] And why do you think that is? Because we don’t see a future.. ㅋㅋㅋ

4. [+217] Do politicians even understand the onslaught of negative eyes that land on you once you take maternity leave, take care of your child, and finally get back to work? Society rewards those who do not have kids ㅎㅎ Why would we choose to give birth in a country that treats child rearing like a personal matter? I’m a civil servant myself but I noticed quickly how the eyes of my male co-workers changed once they found out I was pregnant. They treated me like I was invisible because I was going to take maternity soon.

5. [+118] And where exactly did the government spend that 280 trillion won?

6. [+155] I want three but I settled on one. The government only pushes funding for more births but refuses to fund the families who are currently raising children. We’re all struggling out here with parents working two jobs, who are forced to take days off if a child is sick or on vacation… The reality of our lives makes it hard to even take care of one, let alone dream of having more.

7. [+76] Yeah so where did all of the money they’ve been “pouring into these programs” end up going???

8. [+8] Couples would have more kids if the country didn’t make it impossible to stay alive without having a dual income. Giving more time for leaves from work isn’t what’s going to solve the problem…

9. [+213] Pour money into these programs all you want, it doesn’t change the fact that our lives are hell

10. [+40] The government needs to focus on better funding the families with children right now. We need to see more examples of such families living happy and fulfilling lives to want to give birth in the future. Instead, we see so many families struggling to keep up with dual incomes, barely making it every month… why would anyone feel inspired to have a baby after seeing that?

11. [+87] It’s impossible to raise a baby without a dual income.. and yet companies continue to discriminate against pregnant employees.. I truly give all my props to working mothers out there. My heart drops every time my daycare calls me at work.. because then I’ll have to survive the angry eyes of my co-workers as I ask for the day off to go pick my kid up.. It’s really so hard to raise a baby in this country ㅜㅜㅜㅜ

12. [+5] Less emphasis on funding births, more emphasis on funding families. Just simply giving birth is not going to fix the onslaught of issues that families face once the baby is here. 

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