Faced with its declining birth rate, South Korea wants to innovate, by all means possible. A public think tank recently put forward the idea of starting school a year earlier for girls. According to him, men would be more attracted to younger women and this would encourage births. An idea that is far from unanimous.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Seoul, Celio Fioretti
The South Korean government is constantly thinking of new ideas to encourage births. A study by the Korea Institute of Public Finance suggests starting school a year earlier for girls.
This idea, considered absurd, was criticized from all sides. Initially, demographers refuted the very basis of the study. According to them, there is nothing to confirm that the men are attracted to younger women and that this would have an effect on the birth rate.
Finally, on the side of politicians and public opinion, we denounce a waste of public money and a lack of seriousness on the issue. The authors of the report clarified that this study only reflected their personal opinions, and not the position of the government.
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Emergency
With 0.7 children per woman, the demographic situation of the South Korea is a real emergency. Last May, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he wanted a ministry to combat his country’s low birth rate: “ I request the cooperation of Parliament to review the organization of government in order to create a Ministry of Planning to combat the low birth rate. »
The number of newborns in South Korea, a country of 51 million inhabitants, reached its lowest level in 2023 (230,000) since the first statistics on the subject in 1970, despite the billions of euros spent by the government to encourage births. Its population could decrease by 13 million inhabitants in 2070.
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