Countries: South Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-1

"Senior Presidential Secretary for Population Planning You Hye-mi said on Wednesday that the policies of President Yoon Suk-yeol deserved credit for reversing South Korea’s population decline. You said the growing number of children born during the first two years of marriage, and an increase in two- and three-child families that began in the last quarter of 2024, were particularly encouraging signs. You said Yoon’s emergency measures have 'led the young generation to decide to have children'" (para 6-7).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-2

"Senior Presidential Secretary for Population Planning You Hye-mi said on Wednesday that the policies of President Yoon Suk-yeol deserved credit for reversing South Korea’s population decline. You said the growing number of children born during the first two years of marriage, and an increase in two- and three-child families that began in the last quarter of 2024, were particularly encouraging signs" (para 6). This implies that the ideal family size is small (ELW - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-2

"'There was a change in social values, with more positive views about marriage and childbirth,' Park told a briefing, adding that a rise in the number of people in their early 30s had also been a factor" (Para 13).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-1

"[G]overnment attempts to persuade more young people to marry and have children appear to have had a positive – if limited – effect" (Para 4). "Yoon Suk Yeol, has spent billions of dollars on measures to arrest the decline, including financial incentives for newlyweds and expanded childcare assistance" (Para 9).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: BR-DATA-1

"[T]he number of babies born per 1,000 people in 2024 stood at 4.7, the first rise since 2014. South Korea’s fertility rate – or the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime – was 0.75, the data said, up 0.03 from 0.72 in 2023. The number of births last year was 238,300, an increase of 8,300, or 3.6%" (Para 2-3). "South Korea’s overall population is in decline, however, with deaths outstripping births by 120,000 last year – the fifth consecutive year of natural shrinkage. The population, which peaked at 51.83 million in 2020, is expected to shrink to 36.22 million by 2072, according to...more

Countries: South Korea
Variables: IIP-PRACTICE-2

"In neighbouring South Korea, where societal changes have also produced a challenge to traditional gender roles, lawmakers have recently grappled with the phenomenon of 'semen terrorism' and whether it should be treated as a sex crime" (para 3). New forms of violence against women, such as the aforementioned 'semen terrorism' can make it difficult for women to move freely and safely about in society. Women who fear being targeted by new and unregulated forms of violence may restrict their own public movements for their safety (MCP - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: VOTE-LAW-1

"However, she says, this may have led to even more women coming out to vote" (para 34). This implies that women have the legal right to vote (ELW - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-2

"She also shares the same fear of every woman I spoke to - that if she were to take time off to have a child, she might not be able to return to work. . .One 28-year-old woman, who worked in HR, said she'd seen people who were forced to leave their jobs or who were passed over for promotions after taking maternity leave, which had been enough to convince her never to have a baby" (par. 27, 29). This demonstrates that a woman's job is not necessarily kept if they leave work to have a child (IME - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-1, AFE-DATA-1

"Korean women are the most highly educated of those in OECD countries, and yet the country has the worst gender pay gap and a higher-than-average proportion of women out of work compared to men" (par. 31).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-1

"Neither she, nor any of her friends, are planning on having children. They are part of a growing community of women choosing the child-free life. South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, and it continues to plummet, beating its own staggeringly low record year after year" (par. 5-6). "This expectation that women take two to three years off work when they have a child is common among women. When I asked Stella whether she could share the parental leave with her husband, she dismissed me with a look" (par. 38). "Over in the city of Daejeon, Jungyeon Chun, is in what she calls a "single-parenting marriage". After...more

Countries: South Korea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Neither she, nor any of her friends, are planning on having children. They are part of a growing community of women choosing the child-free life. South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, and it continues to plummet, beating its own staggeringly low record year after year" (par. 5-6).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: CBMC-PRACTICE-1

"[S]he [Yejin] tells me, 'And women who have babies alone are not judged kindly'" (par. 20).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: WAM-PRACTICE-1

"Frustrated, Jungyeon began to observe other mothers. 'I was like, 'Oh, my friend who's raising a child is also depressed and my friend across the street is depressed too' and I was like, 'Oh, this is a social phenomenon'.' She began to doodle her experiences and post them online. 'The stories were pouring out of me,' she said. Her webtoon became a huge success, as women across the country related to her work, and Jungyeon is now the author of three published comic books" (par. 64-65).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-3

"Couples who have children are showered with cash, from monthly handouts to subsidised housing and free taxis. Hospital bills and even IVF treatments are covered, though only for those who are married. Such financial incentives have not worked, leading politicians to brainstorm more 'creative' solutions, like hiring nannies from South East Asia and paying them below minimum wage, and exempting men from serving in the military if they have three children before turning 30" (par. 15-16). "Both men and women are entitled to a year's leave during the first eight years of their child's life. But in 2022, only 7% of new fathers used some of their leave, compared to...more

Countries: South Korea
Variables: DMW-PRACTICE-1

"This expectation that women take two to three years off work when they have a child is common among women. When I asked Stella whether she could share the parental leave with her husband, she dismissed me with a look" (par. 38).