Foreigners in Korea react to the issue of the country's low birth rate

Article: The issue with Korea's low birth rate, as seen through the eyes of foreigners

Source: JTBC via Naver [video here]

[+1,403, -319] The majority of Korean men do not consider household chores and raising children as something they need to take a lead on. And if you're asking if that means they contribute economically to the household, that's not it either. Sure, if you tell them to do something, they'll help you with it... but most women have to not only hold down jobs but also complete household chores and raise their children on their own. There's a very big difference between helping with a task and taking the lead and doing it yourself.

[+521, -58] The economic ability and environmental upbringing of raising children are important but I think it has more to do with the household chores and child rearing falling on to the women's side of work that makes it so much harder

[+472, -34] We are in a generation where women are able to go to college and get jobs just like men, and yet our culture and traditions are still stuck in the conservative days of patriarchy. Once a woman gets married, her suffering begins. I do not want my daughter to walk the path I have. I'd rather she lives confidently and independently.

[+377, -42] Suffering begins for women once they get married and have kids

[+104, -5] Rising housing costs, education costs... I think most Koreans have the mindset that they'd rather not have children at all if they can't provide for them with the Joneses, that we may be alive now because we were forced to be, but we don't want that for our children. We believe that life below middle class is meaningless, and it's the tragedy of our generation... We believe that a happy life is only one where we live in a penthouse apartment in a big city and send our kids to a SKY college... The tragedy of our country is that we have allowed only one route in life to thrive.

[+75, -6] Even foreign women who have only lived here briefly can see so easily what the problem is, and yet Korean men would rather foam at the mouths than admit the truth. Extinction is the only solution for our country ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

[+52, -3] So embarrassing... that foreigners are able to analyze our problem better than our own government...

[+51, -2] The foreigner who said a woman's life is over once she has kids is true. We are not cattle for you to breed.

[+33, -3] Society demands all three things from women: household chores, child rearing, and holding down a job. Of course women are going to start dropping one since the other two aren't as difficult in comparison.

[+23, -2] My experience from living in Korea is that I am not happy, and I know that it will only get worse with time. I wonder how much worse it might be for my child. That is why I think people don't want to have children.

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