South Korea's record-low fertility rate has plunged the country into an urgent population crisis.
South Korean women are on a 'birth strike' as the population shrinks to the point of a national emergencyThe population is forecast to shrink by close to 20 million by the year 2070 and halve by 2100 – and it's been labelled a "national emergency" by President Yoon Suk Yeol.Countries need a fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population without immigration.
Many women have decided against having kids – a so-called "birth strike" – because of pay disparities at work, sexism, housing unaffordability and the country's infamously long work week. A declining population can result in economic pressure on the workforce, less infrastructure built to accommodate a rising population and a decrease in GDP.
The Yoon administration is funding housing and childcare to encourage South Korean women to have children.
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