”Why don't they have children? Issues such as work, housing prices, and education costs are all intertwined.” - South Korean media

"I really agree with the saying that only rich people get married and have children." On the 17th, four people who have worries about childbirth (DINKs, working mothers, and those about to give birth)
They all agreed that the biggest reason for the declining birthrate is the financial burden that comes with childbirth and child-rearing.
They cited high housing prices and education costs as the main reasons for their decision, saying they were not confident they could cope with such high costs.
In fact, according to a survey on private apartment sales prices conducted by the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), the average price of apartments in Seoul as of last month was
The average price per 3.3 square meters of a private apartment was about 39 million won (about 4.48 million yen), an increase of more than 26% compared to the same month last year.
The average monthly education cost for a child (according to the Ministry of Education) was 434,000 won (about 49,900 yen), up 6% from the previous year. The number of people not having children due to the economic burden is increasing, and the total birth rate in Korea is 0.
The number of women in the United States is expected to reach an all-time low of 1.72 in 2023. Lee Hye-min (27), who is married but has decided not to have children, said, "It's hard to give up the happiness of having and raising a child, but after giving birth,
"I couldn't accept the situation I had to go through," he said, "and I thought that if my economic problems weren't resolved, I wouldn't have the time to have and raise a child, so I decided to become a DINKS family."
" Choi Hyeon Yeong (39, working mother), who gave up on having a second child, said, "It costs too much money to raise a child. Housing prices are so high that I can't pay off the loans I took out.
"It's financially very difficult to raise a child while paying off the debt," she said, adding, "I have no intention of having a second child right now." Male participants also expressed similar concerns.
(34, expectant father) said, "When I look at my friends around me, they don't even date until they have a job lined up. People like that are a long way from getting married, let alone having children."
"When you have to work steadily, the time it takes to give birth and raise a child is so long that you no longer want to have children," she said.
It was also pointed out that support for infertile couples is insufficient.
The necessary tests and prescriptions for medicines can cost hundreds of thousands of won or even millions of won, but there is virtually no support for this.
Experts say that the current approach of implementing measures without empirical analysis will result in trillions of won of funding being spent.
"We need to understand the circumstances and characteristics that prevent individuals from having children," said Kim Jin-soo, a professor of social welfare at Yonsei University.
"We must grasp each person's circumstances and provide support taking into account their individual and specific needs and circumstances."