Fertility In South Korea Research Articles

Determinants of Fertility Intentions among South Koreans: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

(1) Background/objectives: This study aims to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of factors influencing fertility intentions among South Koreans. This research is crucial given South Korea's lowest-in-the-world fertility rate of 0.72 in 2023, necessitating rapid and effective policies to address this demographic challenge; (2) Methods: Articles published from database inception through April 2024 were collected from five Korean databases using keywords based on the PEO (Population, Exposure, Outcome) framework. Following PRISMA guidelines, 35 articles were selected. The effect sizes and network of predictors related to fertility intention were analyzed using the R statistical package; (3) Results: A meta-analysis of the effect sizes of factors influencing fertility intentions revealed that the husband's involvement in parenting (ESr = 0.131), women's education level (ESr = 0.127), socioeconomic status (ESr = 0.116), and the expected gender of the child (ESr = 0.068) showed statistically significant positive effects. Conversely, women's age (ESr = -0.175), parental stress (ESr = -0.146), and household labor ratio (ESr = -0.117) showed statistically significant negative effects. The network analysis further elucidated the complex interrelationships among these factors; (4) Conclusions: This study suggests the need for multifaceted policy approaches to address Korea's low fertility, emphasizing promoting men's participation in parenting, supporting women's education and career development, reducing parenting stress, supporting work-family balance, and ensuring economic stability. These findings provide important insights for policymakers and researchers addressing the complex issue of low fertility in South Korea and may inform more effective interventions to boost fertility rates.

Research on the Factors Contributing to Low Fertility in South Korea

In 2023, South Korea had a fertility rate of 0.8831, the lowest in the world. Compared to most other east Asian countries, Korea recovered from the Second World War relatively earlier and is home to some of the most influential companies in the world today. Therefore, while other east Asian countries are in the industrial stage characterized by moderate to high rates of population growth, Korea is already a post-industrial society, marked by low population growth. This paper aims to identify the contributing factors to South Koreas low fertility rate by examining previous surveys completed by Koreans, interviews done with Koreans, and statistics about the Korean economy and society. These surveys, interviews, and statistics show the current economic, social, and cultural characteristics of the country and the flaws in them that lead to low fertility rate. The first significant factor related to the low fertility rate in South Korea is the high economic uncertainty due to rising living costs. Many Koreans struggle to achieve financial independence and move out of their parents homes, which is a barrier to starting a family. The second factor is the rising number of women obtaining higher levels of education and subsequently entering the workforce. The last factor is the practice of neo-Confucianism beliefs that are patriarchal in nature. Therefore, the proposed solution is that the Korean government should focus on changing current social and cultural beliefs to minimize the conflict between family and work for Korean women.

Later, Fewer, None? Recent Trends in Cohort Fertility in South Korea

South Korea and other developed regions in East Asia have become forerunners of prolonged lowest-low fertility. South Korea's total fertility rate has been below 1.3 for two decades, the longest duration among OECD countries. Using vital statistics and census data, I study recent trends in the country's cohort fertility covering women born before the 1960s to those born in the 1980s. Analyzing outcomes at both the intensive margin of fertility (i.e., timing and number of children) and the extensive margin of family formation (i.e., marriage and childlessness), I document three novel patterns. First, the driver of low fertility has evolved across birth cohorts, from married women having later and fewer childbirths, to fewer women getting married, and finally to fewer women having children even if married. Second, a decomposition analysis of marriage and fertility changes indicates that the marriage and fertility decline was driven by changes within educational groups rather than by changes in women's educational composition. Third, the relationship between women's educational attainment and marriage or fertility was negative for the 1960s cohort, but an inverted U-shaped education gradient emerged beginning with the 1970s cohort.

Labour market dualization, permanent insecurity and fertility: The case of ultra-low fertility in South Korea

This paper explores the relationship between labour market dualization, insecurity and low fertility, through a case study of South Korea, an extreme case of ultra-low fertility where the total fertility rate fell to 0.84 in 2020. It is argued that the long-term nature of the insecurity associated with dualization, as well as its impact on people’s perceptions of present and future insecurity, mark dualization out as a particular phenomenon whose impact on fertility current demographic approaches struggle to fully understand. Rather than restricting the focus to the education-employment transition, we show how permanent insecurity in highly dualized labour markets depresses fertility.

A Survey on Public Perceptions of Low Fertility: A Social Research Panel Study.

BackgroundIt was reported that South Korea showed the greatest decline in the fertility rate among the entire OECD countries over the last 30 years with the total fertility rate (TFR) of 0.84 persons in 2020. Despite the efforts of the Korean government, the TFR has decreased constantly. This study intended to analyze the perception of Koreans toward pregnancy and childbirth regarding the low fertility rate in South Korea for understanding the causes of constantly decreased low fertility.MethodsThis study carried out an online survey based on 1,002 men and women aged 19 to 59 years old for six days from October 21 to October 26 in 2021 in cooperation with Gallup Korea. This study analyzed the perception of people toward low fertility, the severity of low fertility, and level of interest in low fertility to inspect awareness of the severity of low fertility in South Korea through a survey.ResultsIt was found that 62%, 52%, and 72% of entire participants, women, and men agreed on a question “It is better to get married”. As for women’s age, a positive response for this question was derived from 34.2% (20s), 43.1% (30s), 53.4% (40s), and 71.4% (50s), respectively (P < 0.001). In a question “the necessity of children”, a positive response for this question was derived from 34.7% (20s), 58.3% (30s), 75.9% (40s), and 83.5% (50s) of female respondents, respectively (P < 0.001). Positive responses were shown 39.2%, 60.0%, 79.7%, and 81.5% of female participants in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s agreed on the question “My children make me happy in my life”, respectively (P < 0.001).ConclusionThis study found that a decrease in the TFR was affected mainly by the negative perception of women in their 20s and 30s toward marriage, childbirth, and the necessity of children. Therefore, further research should be conducted to develop policies that focus on these significant variables to overcome the worsening low fertility problem.

Socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea.

BACKGROUNDSouth Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, reaching a record low of 0.98 in 2018. Understanding socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea has become an important social and policy issue.OBJECTIVEThis study examines socioeconomic differentials in first and second childbirths among married women using various indicators of socioeconomic status at the individual and household level.METHODSUsing the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (1998–2017), discrete-time hazard models are used to evaluate the relationships between multiple indicators of socioeconomic status and the transition to first and second births.RESULTSHigher socioeconomic status (e.g., husband’s college education and standard employment, homeownership) is conducive to a transition to parenthood and second births. However, the wife’s employment – standard employment in particular – is negatively associated with both first and second childbirth. Among the indicators of socioeconomic resources, stable housing arrangements and the husband’s employment security appear to be the most important factors for a married couple’s fertility decisions.CONCLUSIONSSocioeconomically disadvantaged married couples tend to delay their transition to parenthood. In addition, those with high SES are more likely than their counterparts with low SES to have second births. If these patterns persist, they have important implications for the demographic process and social stratification.CONTRIBUTIONThe findings of this study contribute to a comprehensive understanding of socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea and therefore have important policy implications. These findings will also prove useful to other societies with very low fertility rates.

Lowest-Low Fertility in South Korea: Policy and Domestic Labor Supports and the Transition to Second Birth

AbstractScholars and policymakers contend that severe work-family constraints for women are a key contributor to lowest-low fertility in industrialized countries. Two separate areas of research have examined supports that could alleviate these constraints and potentially increase fertility: institutional support in the form of public policies and domestic labor support from male partners. There are few studies considering the influence of both policy and domestic labor supports and no investigations of the interplay between these two support mechanisms. We develop and test a theoretical framework that considers how the combination of these supports could alleviate women’s work-family constraints and increase fertility. Using the case of South Korea, a country with one of the most sustained lowest-low fertility rates in history, we examined the relationship between women’s eligibility for parental leave and husbands’ share of domestic labor and the transition to a second birth. Our analyses revealed that both supports, independently, had positive effects on the likelihood of a second birth. More importantly, we found that husbands’ domestic labor had a positive influence on fertility only when women’s access to parental leave was limited, suggesting that policy and domestic labor supports are substitutes and alleviate the same underlying work-family constraint in the Korean context. Our study underscores the importance of understanding the nature of work-family conflict across countries and how various supports―alone or in combination―could relieve women’s constraints on childbearing and upturn lowest-low fertility.

Spatial Variations in Fertility of South Korea: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach

South Korea has witnessed a remarkable decline in birth rates in the last few decades. Although there has been a large volume of literature exploring the determinants of low fertility in South Korea, studies on spatial variations in fertility are scarce. This study compares the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to investigate the potential role of the spatially heterogeneous response of the total fertility rate (TFR) to sociodemographic factors. The study finds that the relationships between sociodemographic factors and TFRs in South Korea vary across 252 sub-administrative areas in terms of both magnitude and direction. This study therefore demonstrates the value of using spatial analysis for providing evidence-based local-population policy options in pursuit of a fertility rebound in South Korea.

Bridal pregnancy and women’s educational attainment in South Korea, 1970–2009

We examine the link between marriage and fertility in South Korea by focusing on the historic trend of bridal pregnancy (marriage preceded by pregnancy) over the four decadal marriage cohorts since the 1970s. We first demonstrate how the rate of bridal pregnancy changes over the observed period and then investigate the educational differentials in the trend. These inquiries are examined by analyzing a sample of 29,213 ever-married Korean women from recently pooled data from the National Survey of Fertility and Family Health (NSFFH). The results show that bridal pregnancy has increased from 16% in the 1970s marriage cohort to 20% in the 2000s marriage cohort. In response to class differentials, while bridal pregnancy has been more prevalent among less-educated women than among their counterparts, bridal pregnancy has increased across all education groups over time. In addition, the magnitudes of increase are more noticeable among highly educated women of recent marriage cohorts. We contextualize our findings and provide speculations about subsequent family changes in South Korea.

Ultra-low fertility in South Korea: The role of the tempo effect

Background: The total fertility rate (TFR) in South Korea has fallen below 1.3 since 2001. The role of the rapid shift toward a late-childbearing pattern in driving Korean fertility decline to this ultra-low level has been little explored until now. Objective: We provide an in-depth analysis of period fertility trends by birth order in South Korea from 1981 to 2015, when the period TFR fell from 2.57 to extremely low levels. Methods: We combine census and birth registration data to estimate period and cohort fertility indicators by birth order. We compare changes in conventional TFR with tempo- and parity-adjusted total fertility rate (TFRp*) and their birth-order-specific components. Results: The tempo effect linked to the shift toward delayed childbearing has had a strong and persistent negative influence on period TFRs in South Korea since the early 1980s. Without the shift to later childbearing, period fertility rates in South Korea would consistently stay higher and decline more gradually, reaching a threshold of very low fertility, 1.5, only in 2014. The postponement of childbearing and the resulting tempo effect were strongest in the early 2000s, when Korean TFR reached the lowest levels. More recently, Korean fertility has been characterized by a diminishing tempo effect and falling first and second birth rates. This trend marks a break with the previous pattern of almost universal fertility and a strong two-child family model. Contribution: Our study demonstrates the importance of the tempo effect in explaining the shift to ultra-low fertility in South Korea and in East Asia.

Educational differences in period fertility: The case of South Korea, 1996–2010

Background: Previous studies on education-specific fertility in South Korea suggest that fertility differentials across educational groups have been diminishing in recent years.

Division of domestic labour and lowest-low fertility in South Korea

One explanation offered for very low fertility has been the gap between improvements in women’s socioeconomic status outside the home and gender inequality in the home. The related empirical evidence is lacking for East Asian countries, where women may fac

Division of Domestic Labour and the Lowest-Low Fertility in South Korea

BACKGROUND The gap between improvements in women’s socioeconomic status and gender inequality at home has been offered as one explanation for very low fertility. Related empirical evidence is lacking for East Asian countries, where women may face particular challenges combining career and family due to unique regional contexts. OBJECTIVES This paper provides an up-to-date picture of Korean women’s fertility intentions and fertility behaviour, and of the division of their domestic labour with husbands, parents(-in-law), and formal childcare services. In addition, it examines how the informal and formal help women receive affects their fertility behavior. METHODS Using data from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families, I describe fertility intentions, fertility behaviour, and the labour division, and, focusing on women with one child, use logit regressions to estimate how various sources of help relate to the intended and unintended births of second children. RESULTS Particularly among women with one child, both fertility intentions and behaviour displayed greater variability, and fertility intentions were a good predictor of fertility behaviour. Husbands did not provide much help, and gender inequality grew with parity. As for intended births, husbands’ help increased their likelihood. Formal help also had a positive impact when its costs were not high, but parental help showed no significant impact. None of these sources of help was related to unintended births. CONCLUSION AND CONTRIBUTION To tackle Korea’s low fertility, the government policies would be wise to target women with one child. Empirical evidence from Korea supports the recent theoretical literature on the association of low fertility with gender inequity. Various sources of support that relieve women’s domestic labour burden and enhance their work-life compatibility may boost fertility rates in East Asia.

Korean unification: a solution to the challenges of an increasingly elderly population?

South Korea experienced below replacement fertility for the first time in 1983, which also marked the point from which fertility rates continued to decline over the next 20 years to reach a low of 1.2 in 2003. In spite of recent pronatalist policies, the fertility rate has remained near this level and has not increased appreciably. The reasons for sustained low fertility in South Korea are complex and solutions remain elusive. One option that has been suggested is reunification with North Korea, which could address the eventual decline in the population and mitigate the increasing proportion of the elderly. Although the conditions surrounding the German reunification experience were vastly different than what Korea will likely undergo, it is informative to look at Germany as a guide to the demographic parameters of reunification. Three projection models for 2015–2050 are presented; even the highest fertility models show that reunification will not be the answer to population restructuring already underway in South Korea as a result of sustained low fertility.

Macro Analysis of the Impact of Un-marital Rate on the Fertility in South Korea : 1990~2010

이 연구의 목적은 한국의 미혼율 및 출산율 변화 추세와 더불어 미혼율이 출산율에 미치는 영향을 거시적으로 규명하기 위한 것이다. 합계출산율은 16개 광역자치단체별 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 그리고 2010년 인구주택총조사보고서를 이용하여 산출하였으며 사회 및 경제지수 그리고 행정통계 자료를 독립변수로 사용하였다. 가설검증을 위하여 다중회귀분석과 경로분석을 도입하였으며 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 미혼율은 1990년 36.43%에서 2010년 40.57%로 상승하였으며 합계출산율은 1990년 1.54에서 2010년 1.23으로 감소하였다. 다중회귀분석에 따르면 사회발전지수(β=-.326)와 미혼율(β=-.240)은 출산율에 통계적으로 유의미한 부적 영향을 미치는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 그러나 여성지위와 1인당 GRDP(지역별 1인당 소득)는 출산율에 통계적으로 유의미한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 경로분석결과에 의하면 사회발전(β=.445), 여성지위(β=.405)와 1인당 GRDP(β=-.409)는 미혼율에 통계적으로 유의미한 직접적 영향을 미치는 것으로 밝혀졌으며 미혼율(β=-.240)은 출산율에 직접적인 부적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 한편, 사회발전(β=-.107)과 여성지위(β=-.097)는 미혼율을 통하여 출산율에 통계적으로 유의미한 간접적인 부적 영향을 미치고 있으며 1인당 GRDP(β=.098)는 미혼율은 통하여 출산율에 유의미한 간접적인 정적 영향을 미치는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 이러한 연구결과는 한국의 출산율에 미혼율이 직접 및 간접적으로 상당히 큰 영향을 미치고 있음을 나타내고 있다. 그러므로 한국의 저출산 현상을 해소하기 위해서는 미혼율을 낮추기 위한 다양한 형태의 정책수립 및 시행이 필요하다고 하겠다.

Female Labour Force Participation and Fertility in South Korea

Drawing on data from the Korea Labour and Income Panel Study 1998−2008, this article attempts to assess the impact of female labour force participation on childbirth decisions in South Korea. To control for the dynamic processes through which soon-to-be mothers choose to get out of the labour force to give birth, empirical datasets using three different birth-month lag scenarios are examined: no lag; five-month lag; and eight-month lag. In addition parity-specific effects for the first and second childbirth are evaluated in consideration of previous findings showing different effects by birth order. Results suggest that, regarding the first birth, female labour force participation does not seem to have significantly diminished transition probability to first birth. Female labour force participation, however, appears to affect the second childbirth decision in a negative direction, although the impacts are not as great as have been widely publicised.

Sex preferences and fertility in South Korea during the year of theHorse

Since antiquity, people in several East Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and South Korea, have believed that a person is destined to possess specific characteristics according to the sign of the zodiac under which he or she was born. South Koreans, in particular, have traditionally considered that the year of the Horse bears inauspicious implications for the birth of daughters. Using monthly longitudinal data at the region level in South Korea between 1970 and 2003, we found that in the year of the Horse, the sex ratio at birth significantly increased while fertility decreased.