As there has been a sense of crisis with Korean birth rate falling to the lowest level in the world, this study is intended to survey the realities of the low birth rate in Korea and analyze the causes. In addition, the study is to examine the ideas o...
As there has been a sense of crisis with Korean birth rate falling to the lowest level in the world, this study is intended to survey the realities of the low birth rate in Korea and analyze the causes. In addition, the study is to examine the ideas of childbirth held by fertile women residing in Andong City and to analyze their satisfaction with the local government's policies to promote childbirth.
Both literary surveys and questionnaires have been used to reach these goals. The analysis model has established a demographic factor, a social factor, and an economic factor as independent variables, and the low birth rate as a dependent variable.
The subjects of the study are male and female residents in Andong City aged twenty or above. 350 questionnaires were mailed, 300 out of them were recollected, and thirty out of the returned questionnaires were excluded due to their low validity. In the end, 270 questionnaires were analyzed and the data derived were processed and analyzed with the statistical program SPSS of ver.17.0. The analysis has led to the following findings. There are three aspects on the complicated causes of the low birth rate: economic, social and institutional. As for the economic aspect, the educational expenses and child-rearing costs are thought of as heavy burden. From a social viewpoint, the values of marriage have changed, and institutionally, there is no sufficient support system such as a maternity leave or a parental leave.
To help Andong City solve these problems and promote childbirth, the followings are suggested. First, the educational institutions should be improved to solve the problems of educational expenses and nursing costs. Second, recently, the values of marriage have changed. Work is given priority to marriage. This prevalent way of thought has led young people to avoid childbirth. They should be persuaded to believe that marriage and childbirth are very valuable, and to have their values changed. Third, of late, there has been an increasing tendency to avoid childbirth because of the difficulty of handling work and child-rearing. To solve this problem, legal actions should be taken to make systems such as a maternity leave and a parental leave.
As the above research findings have shown, the problem of the low birth rate is not only a personal or familial matter, but a national one. Therefore, to ensure the effectiveness of the policies to promote childbirth, local governments as well as the national government should be committed to making the environment favorable to childbirth and nursing, and raising the low birth rate.