For non-marriage births, you only have to cross your arms and worry about the low birth rate. [Exploration Newsprism]
Hello. I’m Lee Kwang Bin. We start a news prism that diagnoses problems in our society and seeks a sustainable society. Let’s take a look at the issues that Newsprism will address this week.
It has become a so-called “non-marriage era,” a social phenomenon. Young people who want to live alone without getting married are getting thicker. However, more and more people want to have children even if they don’t get married. Non-marital births are drawing attention at a time when people are experiencing ultra-low fertility without hesitation.
Moreover, the view of non-marital births with colored glasses is gradually changing. There are growing calls for recognizing various types of families and not discriminating systematically.
Let’s diagnose a society that encourages non-marriage and see if non-marital childbirth can be one of the alternatives to the low birth rate. Let’s also look at the movement of institutional support for unmarried births with insufficient legal protection. First of all, reporter Kim Jang Hyun.
“In 2750, Korea is the number one country at risk of extinction due to population decline.”
This is the conclusion of David Coleman, an honorary professor at Oxford University, after looking at the low birth rate in Korea.
In particular, experts say that Korea’s total fertility rate of 0.78 last year is hard to see except in the event of a war in history.
Under these circumstances, half of the Korean people think they don’t have to get married, and most of them, especially in their teens and 20s, do not need children even if they get married.
<Lee Min-ho / a member of the Korea Institute of Public Administration> “In order to get married, give birth, or take social responsibility, basic assets are needed, but young people need to spend more time preparing assets, and there are many things to wait for.”
Experts cite financial problems and competitive social structures as the reasons why young people delay marriage and childbirth.
In fact, the cost of raising a child to the age of 18 in Korea was 365 million won, the world’s No. 1 child support.
Analysts say that the excessively competitive social structure has led to an increase in child support costs by significantly increasing the burden of private education costs.
<Jung Jae-hoon / Professor of Seoul Women’s University> “If a competitive society can change, we can see hope… There must be a change in which young people are freed from anxiety about jobs and housing problems…”It should be a society where parents’ work-family compatibility is possible, and not legal marriage-centered support, but various families, especially children-centered support, should be expanded.”
It is pointed out that housing benefits such as special supply and subscription points also need to be designed with a focus on the child’s parenting environment.
<Kwon Dae-jung / Professor of Myongji University> “It is necessary to create a residential environment where young people can live in the city center and change the subscription system…”It is to calculate the ratio of homelessness by generation (such as those in their 20s and 30s) and to compete by generation. The loan support system should vary depending on the various family types…”
The low birth rate problem can provide an opportunity for a turnaround when young people are confident that they can take care of their children without worrying about the future even if they don’t have money right away. The starting point can be found in securing a strong social safety net and resolving the competitive social structure.