THE GOVERNMENT EVEN PUT THIS MOTHER ON THE HIGHEST BANKNOTE THAT THEY HAVE AS A WAY OF
PROMOTING MOTHERHOOD MORE PEOPLE ARE DYING IN THIS COUNTRY THAN BEING BORN SOUTH KOREA'S POPULATION
IS SHRINKING AT A VERY FAST RATE CONSTABLE RACE AND WOW YOUNG GENERATION WON'T HAVE A BABY IN
FACT THIS COUNTRY IS BREAKING ITS OWN RECORD FOR THE WORLD'S LOWEST FERTILITY RATE THE WOMEN I MEET
HERE ALL TELL ME THE SAME THING IT HAS PAID A LOT OF EXPOSED WE HAVE OUR BABY IT'LL BE SO EXPENSIVE
FOR OUR DAILY LIFE PEOPLE DIDN'T GIVE BIRTH ANYMORE THE GOVERNMENT IS IN A CRISIS SOUTH KOREA
IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S BIGGEST ECONOMIES BUT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY AND TO GROW WELL YOU CAN'T REALLY
LOSE YOUR POPULATION SO THE GOVERNMENT IS PAYING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO NEW MOMS EVEN TRIPLING THE
AMOUNT THEY USED TO GIVE AS AN INCENTIVE YET MOST PEOPLE STILL TELL ME IT'S NOT ENOUGH THEY ARE NOT
MAKING APPROPRIATE PLACES ONE YEARS WARRANTY GIFTS THAT ARE ALL OVER HERE THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES AS
WELL THOUGH SOME SAY THEY'RE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE KOREAN IS THE APPROPRIATIONS TO NOURISH
OUR KEY EVEN THE MEN HERE ARE NOT FEELING IT AH NO NO NO NO I DON'T WANT TO BOTHER NOT TAPING
BABY IN THE U.S THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF BABIES AN AMERICAN WOMAN HAS IS 1.64 WHILE IN SOUTH KOREA
IT'S FALLEN TO JUST 0.78 SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE WORLD'S 10TH LARGEST ECONOMY 30 YEARS AGO 40
YEARS AGO WE LIVED WITH GRANDPARENTS SO IT WASN'T A BIG PROBLEM TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN CHILD
BUT IN THESE DAYS ONLY TWO PEOPLE MOM AND DAD THEY HAVE TO CARE ABOUT THE SMALL BABIES DO
YOU THINK ONE DAY YOU WILL HAVE KIDS I JUST SEE THE NEWS I SEE THINGS ARE GETTING SERIOUS
BUT WHAT SHOULD I DO I JUST DON'T DO ANYTHING AT THE CURRENT RATE KOREA'S POPULATION WILL
HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN 2100 AS IT DID IN 1953 THE END OF THE KOREAN WAR THAT'S
JUST AROUND 20 MILLION PEOPLE COMPARED TO ITS CURRENT 52 MILLION BUT WHAT'S MORE CONCERNING
HERE IS THE RATE OF DECLINE JUST LOOK AT THIS CHART IN 2020 THE POPULATION DECLINED BY 57
000 PEOPLE BUT TWO YEARS LATER IT SHRANK BY MORE THAN 123 000 PEOPLE THIS DILEMMA ISN'T EXACTLY
NEW IN 2015 SOUTH KOREA'S BIRTH RATE STARTED FALLING BUT IT WAS FIVE YEARS LATER WHERE IT
RECORDED MORE DEATHS THAN BIRTHS SO AT THIS POINT IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A STABLE POPULATION WITHOUT
IMMIGRATION IT WILL NEED TO HAVE A FERTILITY RATE OF 2.1 AND THAT'S A STAGGERING TWO AND
A HALF TIMES MORE THAN WHAT IT IS NOW USUALLY BEFORE A BIRTH COMES MARRIAGE AND THAT HAS ALSO
SLIPPED TWO RECORD LOWS AS SOUTH KOREANS SEEMED TO SHOW LESS INTEREST THAN EVER BEFORE IN GETTING
MARRIED MY FRIENDS THEY ARE MARRIED THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS WE HAVE IN KOREA AT THE MOMENT NOT SO
MANY YOUNG PEOPLE THEY GET MARRIED I'VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GETTING MARRIED SO WHY IS LESS
PEOPLE SUCH A BAD THING WELL IT MEANS LESS WORKERS SEE AS BIRTH RATES FALL WORKING AGE POPULATIONS
WILL ALSO FALL WHICH IS LIKELY TO CAUSE A LABOR SHORTAGE AND COMBINE THAT WITH AN OLDER POPULATION
AND YOU HAVE MANY ECONOMIC RISKS HERE LIKE IMAGINE NOT HAVING ENOUGH HEALTH CARE WORKERS TO CARE FOR
YOUR ELDERLY IN FACT IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD'S TOP 10 BIGGEST ECONOMIES THEY ALL HAVE SIZABLE
POPULATIONS SOUTH KOREA IS BARELY IN THE TOP 10 BIGGEST ECONOMIES BUT IT HAS THE SECOND TO
LOWEST POPULATION IN THE GROUP JUST BEHIND CANADA NEARLY EVERY PERSON I ASK TELLS ME THE SAME THING
SOUTH KOREA IS HAVING BABY IS VERY EXPENSIVE THE TIME IS ALSO IMPORTANT MOM AND DAD THEY HAVE TO
WALK WHEN THEY GET A JOB THEY CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEIR BABIES THEY JUST GIVE UP THEY CAN BUY
A HOUSE BECAUSE THE HOUSE WAS REALLY EXPENSIVE HOUSING COSTS TOO HIGH BUT THE OLDER GENERATION
DOESN'T SEE THAT AS A GOOD ENOUGH REASON NOWADAYS A YOUNG GENERATION THEY HAVE TO HAVE MIDDLE SIDE
WE CAN'T AFFORD OUR LIFE WHEN WE ARE MARRIED IF WE HAVE OUR BABY IT WILL BE NOT GOOD FOR OUR LOVE AND
THEIR STANDARDS HAS GONE UP REALLY REALLY HIGH AND THE LIVING COST IN KOREA AS YOU KNOW IS QUITE HIGH
BUT HOLD UP LET'S COMPARE THE COST OF LIVING IN SOUTH KOREA TO THEIR INCOME AND PURCHASING POWER
SOUTH KOREA IS RANKED 29 IN THE WORLD IT'S BEHIND GERMANY AND FRANCE BUT AHEAD OF GREECE AND MEXICO
IT GOT MORE EXPENSIVE BUT PEOPLE'S SALARIES OR THEIR INCOME HAS GONE A BIT LOW COMPARED TO THE
INFLATIONS REAL WAGES HERE HAVE ONLY RISEN 27 OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS IN SOUTH KOREA BUT MONEY
IS NOT THE ONLY PART OF THE PROBLEM HERE ARE YOUR PARENTS GENERATION UPSET ABOUT THE BABIES YES OF
COURSE BECAUSE WE FAMILY ARE LIKE BABY PEOPLE HERE SEEM TO LOVE THEIR FREEDOM AND INDIVIDUALITY TOO
MUCH ON TV AND ON SCREEN BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE GET INFLUENCED THROUGH THOSE KIND OF TV DRAMAS
AND THAT MOVIES YEAH THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW GIVING RECORDS AMOUNT OF MONEY TO NEW MOMS OH
TOO THEY TRIED TO CHANGE THE YOUNG GENERATION'S MIND LAST YEAR SOUTH KOREA TRIPLED THE AMOUNT IT
CAN GIVE TO NEW MOMS SO IT WILL OFFER AROUND 700 A MONTH THEY HAVE TO YOU CAN ASK THEIR BABIES TO
BE TAKEN CARE OF OUT TO SOMEONE ELSE AND IT IS A COST AND ALSO EVEN GOVERNMENT TODAY SUPPLY LIVING
COSTS FOR THEIR SUBSIDIZATION SO THIS IS THE WOMAN THAT WAS ADDED TO THE HIGHEST BANKNOTE THIS IS 50
000 KOREAN WON WHICH IS EQUAL TO ABOUT 38 AND AS YOU CAN SEE THERE SHE IS SHE'S A MOTHER SHE'S
WELL KNOWN AND PRAISED AS BEING THE MOTHER OF A WELL-KNOWN SCHOLAR SOME WOMEN'S GROUPS
WERE ACTUALLY AGAINST THIS AND THEY SPOKE OUT AGAINST PUTTING HER ON THE BANKNOTE DESPITE
THE GOVERNMENT'S BABY BONUS OF 700 A MONTH PEOPLE TELL ME THE SAME THING IT'S NOT ENOUGH
TO RAISE A BABY IF THE GOVERNMENT GAVE MORE MONEY WOULD MORE PEOPLE HAVE BABIES YOU THINK
YES BETWEEN THE COST OF LIVING COST OF HOUSING AND WAGES THAT MOST PEOPLE SAY JUST AREN'T
ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A CHILD THINGS ARE DIFFICULT EDUCATION IS A DIFFERENT THING IN KOREA BUYING
LIFETIME ALIVE STUFF LIKE DIAPERS THOSE KIND OF THINGS OKAY YOU CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW
YOU CAN SOLVE THE SITUATION WITH 700 A MONTH BUT LATER ON IT'S BECAUSE YOU JUST NEED MORE MONEY
BUT THEY DO THEY WON'T GET ANY MORE SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT SHE INVESTED
ALL THE MONEY FOR THE FAMILY AND THE AND FOR THE BABY BUT NOWADAYS THEY CAN'T CONCENTRATE ALL THE
MONEY ON BABIES THEY HAVE TO YOU KNOW USE THEIR MONEY ON DIFFERENT THE LOSS OF YOUNG PEOPLE THEY
DO THEY THINK THE MEMORY IS NOT NECESSARY WHEN I WAS YOUNG MARRIED IS COMPULSORY THEN WE DO NOT ASK
ARE YOU GOING TO GET MARRIED BUT IN THESE DAYS A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK IT IS NOT COMFORTABLE I DON'T
SEE MY FRIENDS WANT GETTING GOING TO GETTING MARRIED THEY JUST DON'T SEEM INTERESTED SOUTH
KOREA IS NOT AN AWARD ITS ECONOMY IS STRONG AND GROWING FOR NOW SO IS THIS REALLY JUST
ABOUT MONEY BECAUSE YOU HAVE BABIES EVEN AT WAR THEY'RE ALWAYS HARD TIME FOR WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
A COUNTRY'S POPULATION IS SET TO DECLINE AT SUCH A FAST RATE I WANT BABY SO IT'S ONE BUT
TWO IF TWO EXPENSIVE IT IS SERIOUS DEFINITELY SO WE HAVE TO FIX IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE