The population of South Korea is about 51.5 million as of 2022, ranking 13th in Asia and 29th in the world. On the other hand, since the land area is narrow, the population density is 510 people/km2, ranking third in the world. Rather, China, the second-largest country in population, has a population density of only 160 people/km2 because its land area is incomparably larger than that of South Korea. In terms of population density, Monaco ranked first and Singapore ranked second.
This has been a phenomenon since at least the Joseon Dynasty, and according to Joseon documents, the environment favorable to agricultural production and long peace are cited as the causes. At this time, the fertility rate was lower than that of Western European society, which gave birth to more than 10 people, but six to seven people gave birth, so the population could be maintained according to natural conditions. There were many cases of having children because they had to give birth to a son and continue generations, which affected the increase in the fertility rate. The idea of male preference itself continued until the early to mid-2000s. Since 1983, the technology of abortion by discriminating gender has developed, and only boys have caused a lot of gender imbalance, partially affecting the decline in the fertility rate. During this period, the total fertility rate is in the mid-1 point range, and countries with this level of fertility are seriously concerned about the low birth rate. In the West, even if the total fertility rate is less than 2.1, it is considered a low birth rate. Accordingly, as the Korean fertility rate reached 0.8 after 2020, social concerns and discussions arose. Unless it is a regional case such as China’s three northeastern provinces, it has taken a path that no other country in the world has ever taken. In 2022, four societies in the field of social science made “decreasing fertility rates and responding to population aging policies” as the most important policy task for the new government to develop Korea.
In Korea, the population began to decline not only naturally in 2020, but also in the population, including the immigrant population. By the month, the start date of population decline is December 2019.
In the 1980s, Korea maintained the policy stance of “there are two of them,” and even when France encouraged childbirth while recording a higher birth rate than Korea, it restricted birth. Looking at the birth rate figures alone, France thought it was “not enough” and Korea thought it was “excessive.” This problem is a background knowledge, and it is necessary to look at the demographic situation of Korea and France at the time. Looking at the proportion of the population aged 65 or older in 1980, France had already reached 14.0%, while Korea had only 3.8%. Considering that the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 or older in Korea was 15.7% in 2020, the French policy at the time was not strange. In France, there has been a perception since the 60s that a decrease in fertility rates and an aging population reduce economic vitality. In the 1980s in Korea, there was a low perception of population aging, so opinions on what the population structure of Korea was like were not well expressed, and birth control was justified because of the high population growth rate. Compared to Japan, which is considered to be a low birth rate country, it contrasts with the abolition of the birth control policy immediately in the 1960s, judging that the policy was successful when the total fertility rate reached the early two-person range. At that time, the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 or older in Japan was 5.7% in 1960 and 6.3% in 1965. The South Korean government stopped the contraceptive project in 1989, effectively stopped the birth control policy, and abolished the birth control policy in 1996. At that time, the proportion of the elderly aged 65 or older in Korea recorded 5.1% in 1990 and 5.9% in 1995.
The proportion of the elderly population in Korea in 2019 was 14.9%, which is less than that of countries such as Japan (28.4%), Italy (23.0%), Portugal (22.4%), and Germany (21.6%). However, if there is an argument that there is no need to encourage childbirth as actively as they do, it is naturally wrong. This is because Korea is expected to become the world’s No. 1 aging country by simply substituting the figure, as it has an all-time high birth rate of 0.8 and life expectancy is heading for the world’s No. 1. Just looking at the data from the National Statistical Office in 2022, it announced that in just three years, people aged 65 or older will be 21%. And it would also be wrong to unconditionally defend birth control at the time just because the proportion of the elderly population in Korea in the 1980s was significantly smaller than that of developed countries. This is because the rate of decline in fertility, average life expectancy growth, and social structure changes showed significantly different patterns from other developed countries. Of course, the government will not be able to predict the future completely, but at least as there are precedents in Europe and Japan, research on them had to be done properly.
In the early 2000s, there were arguments criticizing the population decline of birth control itself, and as the birth rate plunged in the late 2010s, more and more people criticized the birth control policy at this time. Until 1996, the government implemented a “birth restriction” policy and switched to a “birth promotion” policy only after being criticized by foreign experts, and the policy should have already been established in the mid-1980s. Some argue that birth control at a time when the total fertility rate exceeded 2.1, which will be maintained until 1982, is different after 1983. Since the past, the fertility rate has been decreasing very fast, so the low elderly population ratio of 3% as of the 1980s may come out, but the problem is that the future was not accurately predicted because it was okay right away. The policy came mainly from the conservative camp, but even the JoongAng Ilbo positively described that President Lee Myung Bak gave birth to four people during his birth control, or an article with positive expectations for it argued that we were responsible for birth control. President Lee Myung Bak has already heard criticism of birth control by visiting Cardinal Chung Jin-seok as a candidate, and some within the conservative party, the People’s Power, argued that the side effects of birth control need to be changed even now.
In the government campaign of 1986, the government strongly implemented the birth control policy by using the expression, “The population growth rate will be zero at the level of advanced countries only around 2023. According to this, it can be said that the Korean population growth rate around 2020 was similarly predicted at the time. However, there is no information that people at that time predicted the current situation in Korea, the birth rate of 0.8 and the world’s second-largest life expectancy. Even at a similar population growth rate, the situation is very different if the fertility rate and life expectancy are different. This is because the proportion of the elderly population increases rapidly and the proportion of the production population decreases significantly in a situation where the fertility rate is 0.8 and the world’s second-largest life expectancy. In other words, it was not expected at the time that the birth rate would plunge this much, and there were concerns that the birth rate would “surge” even if life improved a little. In 1982, there were concerns about aging, but some argued that the welfare of the elderly should be emphasized first.
Given that Korea and China were the only countries in the world that emphasized the claim that there were two people, it can be said that the birth control policy was implemented second only to China. Under any economic conditions, no country has had such birth control except China. Kim Jong-in, a famous politician and economist, testified that when the birth rate reached 1.9 in other developed countries in 1989, the birth rate would decline very rapidly.[91] He tried to argue that birth control should be abolished efficiently. He argued that until the 1980s and 1990s, there was no recognition of whether the population (with a low birth rate) was related to the economy, and that “a small population increases GDP” and that “a large number of people is noble.” The following is an article on people’s opinions on birth control at the time. Opinions from all walks of life are described. Choi Wook-hwan, a professor at Yonsei University, said that birth control is a climate of disregard for human dignity, and that in a country that requires a lot of excellent human resources, such as Korea, it is not the only way not to give birth unconditionally. And, saying that the issue of birth control is not a matter of rushing, he saw that both giving France many benefits for having a baby or imposing fines for China’s fertility were fundamentally wrong. A citizen living in Seoul showed the perception that the population should be reduced first because housing prices are too high and college entrance competition is severe.# Hankyoreh, who criticized the conservative government, argued in a column that 40 million people were overwhelming on a narrow land and that the population clock tower was good at “warning” population growth, but it was regrettable that it failed to prevent the idea of male preference. He even praised this part for its response to infertility procedures from the 60s to the 80s.# There were other opinions in the religious community, but there were many opinions that treated a large population as bad. There was even public opinion that the government should tighten birth control without even recognizing the economic deterioration caused by aging.
The Korean government stopped the contraceptive project in 1989 and effectively stopped the birth control policy. In 1996, the birth control policy was abolished, and the goal of the population policy was changed from “birth control” to “improving quality.” In 2005, the Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society was launched. Nevertheless, any government has succeeded in attempting to dramatically rebound the birth rate. Far from rebounding, the situation worsened after the 2020s, with the fertility rate falling to 0.8.
According to a 2006 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 47.5 percent drew a line that they were not willing to have additional children if the government provided financial support, 2.7 percent expressed an active intention, and 26.9 percent expressed a possibility.
According to a survey by Maekyung Economy in 2019, 49% said that the reason for the low birth rate was complex, 21.8% of childcare facilities and childcare costs, 8.8% of people do not want to pass on poverty, 6.4% of career breaks, 5.8% of stable jobs, 2.8% of housing environment, and 0.8% of marriage.