South Korea has the world’s lowest birth rate, but fertility clinics are booming

When I started enriching in the laboratory (IVF) last November, Kim Mei -ah knew that it would be a tired test of patience – which she actually endured when she imagined her first child three years ago.

But what was shocked this time was the “crazy” waiting at the fertility clinic.

“When I went in January, I felt that everyone had made a decision for the new year to have a child! Even with reservation, I waited more than three hours,” says 36 -year -old Solo resident.

While South Korea continues the struggle with the lowest birth rates in the world, fertility clinics in the increasing demand – a bright point in the demographic crisis in the country.

Between 2018 and 2022, the number of fertility treatments that was implemented in the country increased by approximately 50 % to 200,000. Last year, one out of every six children was born in Seoul with the help of fertility treatment.

Experts say that support for the mutation is a shift in the positions on family planning.

“We have a young generation … he is used to controlling her life,” says Sarah Harper, a professor of aging at Oxford University. She adds that this control may come in the form of single women who freeze their eggs or husbands who are trying to pollinate when they cannot get pregnant.

“While there was greater acceptance in previous generations, whether you imagine or could not be a little random, and now we have Korean women saying:” I want to plan my life. “

This is good news for the South Korean government, which is trying to get the country out of a demographic crisis. One in five people in South Korea are 65 years old or more. As a percentage of the total population of the country, there were no fewer children.

The country has repeatedly broke its own record to obtain the lowest birth rate in the world: 0.98 children per woman in 2018, 0.84 in 2020 and 0.72 in 2023. If this trend continues, experts warn of its population 50 million people in 60 years.

But recently, there is a reason for cautious optimism: instead of another record, the birth rate in South Korea has increased to 0.75 in 2024 – the first increase in nine years.

“It is a small stumbling block, but it is still meaningful,” says Seulki Choi, a professor at the College of Public Policy and Administration at the Korea Development Institute.

It is too early to know if this is the beginning of a reflection that affects the need or just a sparkle. The birth rate in the country is still much lower than the global average 2.2. But many like Dr. Choi are optimistic with caution.

“If this trend continues, it may indicate a long -term shift,” says Dr. Choi. “We need to see how young positions on marriage and family change.”

For years, having children was the last thing in the mind of Park SO. She was mostly busy at work, and she often started her advertising function at 04:00.

“I was in a company with an endless additional work, so it was not even anything that I could think of it realistic,” says 35 -year -old.

Things began to change after her marriage two years ago. I got a new job with better hours – and the friends around her began to have children.

She said: “The vision and interaction with their children made her feel less immersive.” “Watching my husband takes the initiative, conducting research on pregnancy and childbirth and showing a real effort, gave me confidence that we can do so.”

When Mrs. Park and her husband faced a pregnancy problem, they looked at fertility treatments. Many others do the same, providing expectations that can exceed the booming industry by more than $ 2 billion by 2030.

“This is in fact an important reference to policy makers that still some women who want to start families but face them … obstacles to doing so,” says Jennifer Scuba, President and CEO of the Non -Population Resolution Office in Washington, DC.

“More than anything else, this is a sign that people are unable to fulfill their desires to have children.”

The difficulty of pregnancy is just one barrier. At the heart of the problems of the population in South Korea, there is a set of social and financial pressures – a patriarchal standards that put most responsibilities of child care for women Long working hours and Higher education costs – which discourages many young people from having children.

For some, these dreams were late. More than half of the South Koreans say they want children but they cannot afford their costs, according to the United Nations report. By the time when South Korea women gave birth to her first child, their average age is 33.6 – among the highest in the world.

“If we look back, it would have been better to start early,” says Ms. Park. “But realistically … now I feel like it’s the right time. In the late twenties of my age, I did not have the financial ability to think about marriage or children.”

The same applies to Mrs. Kim, who spent three years to save the marriage and four others for the child.

“People spend their youth in study, hunting jobs, and spending money to prepare for life. With the time they were ready to settle, they are often late,” she says. “But later you are waiting, the more difficult [to become pregnant]Physically and emotionally. “

For those who choose artificial insemination, the pregnancy attempt process becomes much more expensive.

“It is difficult to say exactly the amount of artificial insemination because it differs greatly by person and cycle,” says Ms. Kim. “They are huge and unpredictable expenses that can really affect your money.”

As part of the concerted efforts to enhance the birth rate, the South Korean government has sought to support fertility treatments. Seoul now supports up to 2 million Korean ($ 1,460; 1100 pounds) for freezing eggs and 1.1 million WNA per industrial pollination treatment.

But even with government support, Mrs. Kim says she spent more than 2 million o’clock in January in favor of artificial insemination-mostly on elements outside the pocket that do not cover subsidies, such as nutritional supplements and additional tests.

With Lower One of the artificial insemination courses ends in success, The costs can accumulate quickly.

This was the case for Class Say-Hyun in the southwestern province of Giola. The 37 -year -old started treating fertility two years ago and she did five industrial vaccination courses, each cost about 1.5 million WNA.

“I hope that things will succeed after only two or two attempts, but for most people, this is not the case,” she says. “Without money, you cannot simply go forward. This is the reality. I think this is the most frustrated part.”

The same challenge, as women say, are the pressure of the workplace they face when they are committed to the IVF schedule.

While South Korea companies offer several days of leave to treat fertility, women say it is actually difficult to benefit from. Mrs. Kim says that she underwent the artificial insemination of her first child without taking leave at all. Meanwhile, Mrs. Gang says that her colleagues asked her to postpone her treatment.

“It made me feel as if I felt that she was reciting them with artificial insecurity and a full -time function,” says Ms. Gang. “So she resigned. But as soon as I left, I stood financially. This led to another cycle of quitting smoking and hunting jobs again.”

Such financial and cultural pressures may have abandoned the dreams of many South Koreans to have children, but not Mrs. Gang. She is still merging when she remembers two cases of pregnancy early in her marriage – both of whom are over in cases of miscarriage.

“You know how to say when you have a child, you feel that love is limitless?” She says. “I think having a child like both of us and create a family together is one of the greatest forms of happiness that a person can feel.”