Pressured to be 'best moms,' women say it's not just about money
With South Korea’s total fertility rate reaching as low as 0.72 in 2023, making it one of the lowest among the ranks of the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the government is devising a list of attractive policies to persuade women to have babies -- that includes giving them hefty amounts of subsidies dubbed “childbirth benefits.”
From the central government, potential mothers receive 1 million won ($751) to pay for their medical expenses. Once they give birth, they receive a one-time lump sum subsidy of 2 million won as a childbirth benefit, and every month the mother receives up to 1.1 million as parental benefits and child support payments until the child turns one. As the child gets older, the subsidy provided by the government becomes less, but monthly child support payments of up to 100,000 won are provided until the child turns eight. Roughly before the child turns 2, the parents get 23.4 million won.
Kim Hae-won, who resides in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, is one such mother who received the subsidy after giving birth to her daughter in January. Just from the central government, she received up to 3 million won as a lump sum subsidy and has begun receiving the 1.1 million won monthly subsidy since February.
The “childbirth benefits” are not just given by the central government. Depending on where the mothers live, they can get such benefits from their local governments and their district offices.
As a citizen of Seoul, Kim received an additional subsidy of 1 million won in the form of voucher points from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to use for postpartum care. From the Gangnam-gu Office, which gives the highest subsidy in Seoul, Kim was subsidized up to 2 million won for child support and 500,000 won for postpartum care.
Lim Se-jeong, another mother who is a resident of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province, received a one-time lump sum subsidy of 500,000 won from the Gyeonggi Office and 1 million won as childbirth benefits from Goyang City Government.
The subsidies provided by the government also double if you have twins. Cho Min-kyeong, who resides in Dong-gu, Incheon, will give birth to twins in May. From the central government, Cho will receive 2 million won for medical expenses, 5 million won in childbirth benefits and 2.2 million won every month in parental benefits until the child turns one. From the Incheon Metropolitan Government, Cho will also receive up to 500,000 won for transportation expenses and 1 million won from the Dong-gu Office in total for both of her children after she gives birth.
Expectations on moms
However, for most young Korean women, money alone is not enough to solve the low fertility rates.
Though feeling financially burdened to have children is a valid concern, 26-year-old Kim added that there is societal pressure -- often on moms only -- to raise the perfect child and to be the best mom.
“I have to work but at the same time be present for my child and my family. I have to teach my child proper manners and always be on the lookout for them in public, because if my child misbehaves, there will always be at least one person who looks at us disapprovingly,” said Kim.
Jung Yoo-jin, 27, added that it is “unfair that the pressure that comes with childcare is mostly on moms.”
“First of all, it’s hard to find men who will share chores and childcare equally with you, but even if you do, Korea’s parental leave system is still mostly unfavorable to fathers, so it’s difficult to equally divide the responsibilities that come with childcare,” said Jung.
Korea’s parental leave system often faces criticism for the prevailing societal view that fathers taking parental leave is still not positively regarded. According to Statistics Korea’s Parental Leave Statistics from 2022, it found that there is still a gap between mothers and fathers who take parental leave, as fathers only accounted for 27.1 percent of those who took parental leave in 2022, while mothers accounted for 72.9 percent.
“After I took my parental leave for six months to take care of my son and got back to work, most people asked, ‘Did you rest well?’,” said Kwon Min-jun, a father who recently used his parental leave. “There is still a social perception that men take parental leave just to take a break from work, and I think that hinders a lot of other men from going on parental leave."
A need for social change
To increase total fertility rates, experts urge that a change in society is needed along with subsidies.
Professor Jung Jae-hoon from Seoul Women’s University's Department of Social Welfare referred to Sweden as an example that allows working parents to partake in active parenting while not having to worry about career loss or how their companies would perceive them taking parental leave. While Sweden’s total fertility rate has been decreasing in the last few years, it still is relatively higher than other OECD countries at 1.84.
“Sweden provides parental benefits and child support like Korea, but also has a working system that is favorable to both parents,” said professor Jung. “It’s easy for mothers to ease back into work after giving birth, as it allows workers on parental leave to work on a part-time basis. It also mandatorily assigns a certain number of days for fathers to take parental leave, creating a social atmosphere where both parents partake in parenting together.”
Jung added that subsidies are necessary “for childcare or for education,” but that business environments should also be changed to be more “parent-friendly” to boost total fertility rates in Korea.
“Society needs to be more accepting of families, starting with more companies promoting a work-life balance and introducing more family-friendly management policies so that both parents can feel encouraged to partake in parenting.”
-
When Are Next绗崄涓夊眾涓浗姘戦棿鑹烘湳鑺傚湪闈掑矝瑗挎捣宀告柊鍖哄紑灞曟枃鑹烘儬姘戞紨鍑篲涓浗灞变笢缃慱闈掑矝杨克瓷板画“南龙北鲤”系列全国首秀在青岛崂山区杯子博物馆举办Djokovic meets ATP chief Gaudenzi, says players body moving aheadWho is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?The majority of Trump supporters surveyed described black people as “less evolved.”The polar vortex will return, and bring the coldest temps of the yearDjokovic meets ATP chief Gaudenzi, says players body moving ahead实干担当抓落实 多措并举促发展家庭大屏掀起“激光电视热” 超四成用户因健康护眼选购
下一篇:Yoon approves labor minister's appointment
- ·Is Mercury retrograde messing with you? Think again.
- ·VoteCastr early vote estimate: Colorado looking very, very tight.
- ·拼多多,让农业成为他们的人生选择
- ·Russian delegation arrives in Pyongyang for trade, science talks: KCNA
- ·Value Judgment
- ·Trump can happen again.
- ·“清心希古,礼贤雅会”青岛九中礼贤教育集团书画作品展开展
- ·New Poll: Democrats really hate Vladimir Putin.
- ·多措并举优治理 绘就幸福新图景
- ·以数据要素乘数效应助力现代农业!“数据要素×”三年行动计划发布
- ·Smart toys that talk to kids are often full of security flaws
- ·Woman almost rents the devil's house because it has a great bathtub
- ·Ruling bloc seeks tougher sentences for deepfake sex crimes
- ·Apple's streaming service is coming as soon as April, report says
- ·N. Korean envoy rejects report on Hamas using N. Korean arms as 'groundless'
- ·VoteCastr early vote estimate: Colorado looking very, very tight.
- ·Against All Odds: How Netflix Made It
- ·Russian delegation arrives in Pyongyang for trade, science talks: KCNA
- ·Nick Clegg says Facebook to open another 'war room' to fight fake news
- ·青岛市2023年绿色出行宣传月和公交出行宣传周系列活动启动
- ·Project 2025 Comstock Act: Trump’s new abortion comment exposed.
- ·Trump finally tweets (and promptly deletes) a unifying message
- ·享受羽毛球运动的快乐
- ·AirPods 2 launching in first half of 2019 with rumored health monitoring features: report
- ·Coach jailed for sexual exploitation of underage athlete
- ·Final polls hand good news to Hillary Clinton but battlegrounds still contested.
- ·Pope says England are not 'one
- ·音乐与时尚的“邂逅”!无极四重奏专场音乐会精彩上演
- ·Facebook is shutting down Moments
- ·Apple's streaming service is coming as soon as April, report says
- ·Elon Musk's AI facility is reportedly operating gas turbines without a permit
- ·Why we binge
- ·“清心希古,礼贤雅会”青岛九中礼贤教育集团书画作品展开展
- ·Nick Clegg says Facebook to open another 'war room' to fight fake news
- ·N. Korea test
- ·Smart toys that talk to kids are often full of security flaws