The current situation in South Korea
Some weeks ago, ZDF journalist Miriam Steimer posted an article about the low birth rate in South Korea online (see link below). The headline was “Why South Korean women are not having children”.
Ms. Steimer cites several points that could explain the low birth rate: “Rather a dog than a child” is the conclusion reached by many young couples in South Korea. Some women go even further: “no children, no marriage, no dating, and no sex.“
A list of grievances can at least partially explain decisions like these: Korea is far from equal pay and equal rights, and also from a fair division of childcare responsibilities. Furthermore, both wives and singles are frequent victims of male violence.
The South Korean government is aware that childlessness will lead to a demographic catastrophe, and is searching for solutions. A year ago, a South Korean delegation visited the European Associations of Large Families to gather information about the situation of families in those countries, and to derive corrective measures for their own country.
How Germany aims to improve the situation of families
What lessons can South Koreans learn from us? Germany’s own low birth rate has prompted political debate, and some countermeasures have already been implemented. Nevertheless, these are still far from sufficient.
From Karl-Maria de Molina’s perspective “a new appreciation of the family” can only be achieved through a radical shift in society, not by imposing political measures. Mothers who do not go to work or work only part-time, for the sake of their children, are treated by some as second-class citizens. Their contribution to society is completely overlooked. In some circles, singles who work full-time are valued more than mothers who work part-time. Nevertheless, the value to society of mothers’ raising children can scarcely be overstated.
It was this idea of promoting a greater appreciation of the family that gave rise to the “Family Valued” project (www.FamilyValued.org). One of the initiatives of this project is the book, “The Renaissance of the Family” published in March 2025. It presents some pioneering measures to help families thrive.
Here are some examples
To improve childcare, the authors Katja Kaltenbach and Stephanie Maus founded kiwifalter Hub, a location with co-working spaces and a daycare center: https://www.kiwifalter.de
Caring for relatives or sick children presents parents with sometimes insurmountable challenges. For this reason, Julia Kahle and Anna Schneider have developed an app that helps parents find suitable nannies: https://www.heynanny.com
Work-life balance is an important issue for both mothers and fathers. Without a balance, either families or companies suffer. For this reason we have dedicated seven of the book’s articles to the topic. They elucidate a number of use cases. Companies bear the responsibility for developing appropriate measures. One example is the company Adacor Hosting and its HR director, Kiki Radicke: https://www.adacor.com
The list of “best practices” in the book is long; we therefore refer the reader to the book directly. See link below.
Let us return to the article about South Korea. Ms. Steimer concludes her article with the following statement: “As long as there is so much injustice, sexism, and violence against women in Korea – and as long as the financial pressure on families doesn’t change, then the low birth rate is unlikely to change either.”
Link to the Book „The Renaissance of the Family“: https://familyvalued.org/en/renaissance-der-familie-2/
Link to the article in ZDFheute: https://tinyurl.com/y7v9khp4
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