tHis typical K-drama romance ends with marriage, sometimes starting a family. Traditionally, the former is regarded as a prerequisite for the latter.

But the South Korean government hopes that more people can skip a step when they see it.

Local media reported this week that a study commissioned by the President’s Social and Demographic Policy Committee on Aging, conducted by the Korean Institute of Women’s Development, showed that between 2008 and 2024, approval rates for delivery at weddings increased significantly among men and women in their 20s and 30s.

Support for childbirth among women in their 20s rose from 28.4% in 2008 to 42.4% last year. For women in their 30s, women during the same period rose from 23.9% to 40.7%. There is a similar trend among men: In 2008, 32.4% of men in their 20s were approved for weddings in their 30s, while 43.1% and 43.3% of men of all male age groups approved in 2024.

The government clearly welcomed what was once a stigmatized as it worked to increase its fertility rate, the first rise in last nine years but remains the world's lowest, with 0.75 children per woman.

Why fertility is important

When the population is aging, South Korea is not alone in Asia or the world, but by the end of 2024, East Asia's 51 million East Asian countries have become a "super-age" society after 20% of their population accounts for 65 years and above.

In order to "replace" a generation of people without immigrating, a country's fertility rate is 2.1. Always lowered fertility rates can lead to smaller labor, slow economic growth and stress on social security and pension systems. To help keep the economy alive, many seniors in South Korea continue to work.

What has South Korea done to promote birth

South Korea has paid everything in the population crisis over the years, especially since the outbreak of President Yoon Suk-Yeol, from cash incentives to increasing parents’ leaves and benefits, and even considering military recruitment exemptions to parents.

Yoon, a secretist who blames feminism on low fertility rates, declared a "demographic national emergency" in June 2024 and unveiled a series of policies aimed at seducing families to have children and worrying about the high cost of living. The plan also includes a new Population Strategy and Planning Department, which is responsible for developing policies, although it was not implemented before his strike.

How marriage is linked to birth rate

The marriage rate in South Korea actually increased in 2024, with 14.8% of couples’ marriages compared to the previous year. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that, as the female trends suggest, more children will be born, whether they get married or not.

Population experts say pushing couples to get married may not be the solution to low fertility. Instead, evading what experts call the “low-education trap” may require broader changes to social norms. For South Korea, traditional family structure may be such a norm.

Why perception is changing

In Korea, delivery of labor is still relatively rare. About 4.7% of babies born in 2023 are born in women with unmarried or civil partnerships, and although the figure has been on an upward trend since 2018, the average in developed countries is significantly below the 42% average (members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or members of the OECD).

The deep-rooted prejudice against Korean women with babies outside of marriage leads to low characters. This word Horojasik Sometimes used to insult a child who has been married.

"This is just the required tradition/belief of inheriting Confucian culture with women's obligations and roles," said Youngmi Kim, senior lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

But these perceptions are changing, especially as Yoon's administration has proposed some welfare policies that cater to single parents, part of his increase in birth rates. Greater popularity, including celebrities with children, also contributed to the transformation.

The Presidential Committee published a study on public awareness of South Korea’s population issues and perceptions of marriage and childbirth. The study, conducted last March, pointed out that unmarried people are increasingly willing to have children. Joo Hyung-Hwan, vice-chairman of the committee, said in a press release that the latest statistics in the country were "encouraging", but added that the committee "will provide support by improving discriminatory factors and institutional deficiencies in non-Malier births."