Yonhap has an interesting article published about the different incentives being offered in South Korea for families to have 3 or more children in order to improve the nation’s birthrate:
Kang Mi-ok holds her fourth baby as she talks with her husband at a cafe in Cheongyang, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, on Jan. 7, 2017. (Yonhap)
The government spent more than 101.6 trillion won from 2006 to 2016 to encourage people to have more babies, though it was not enough to boost the low birthrate. The government said it has set aside more than 22.4 trillion won this year to help raise the country’s birthrate.
“It’s fair to say financial incentives are part of South Korea’s efforts to raise the low birthrate,” said Kye Bong-oh, professor of sociology at Kookmin University and a member of the Population Association of Korea.
Still, he said it remains to be seen how effective South Korea’s birth promotion policy will be.
Kang said she feels relieved that her county offers 10 million won in incentives to promote birth.
Kang’s view was echoed by Lee Su-min who is entitled to receive 47 million won from the southeastern county of Changnyeong and the central government over the next five years for her fourth baby.
“Financial incentives are of help to my family, as my husband is the sole breadwinner,” Lee said by phone from Changnyeong.
The southern South Korean island of Wando also offers 5 million won as a lump sum and another 15 million won in installments over three years for those who have a fifth baby. So far, there is only one recipient, but he declined to give an interview, citing privacy. [Yonhap]
It wasn’t that long ago that the Korean gov’t penalized families for having more than two kids by not allowing health insurance to cover the full cost of the birth of a third+ child. This happened to a Korean friend of mine around 1990 when his wife had their third child.
Having three kids in South Korea now is unthinkable. Having four as this story, is a freakish phenomenon. Having two kids is rare enough, and the parents lauded for such boldness. Now, even having one kid is a lot. Lot of couples are going childless by choice. And lot of people are staying single by choice, refusing to marry.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Korean gov’t penalized families for having more than two kids by not allowing health insurance to cover the full cost of the birth of a third+ child. This happened to a Korean friend of mine around 1990 when his wife had their third child.
Having three kids in South Korea now is unthinkable. Having four as this story, is a freakish phenomenon. Having two kids is rare enough, and the parents lauded for such boldness. Now, even having one kid is a lot. Lot of couples are going childless by choice. And lot of people are staying single by choice, refusing to marry.