South Korea’s highly competitive private education system is being blamed for a sharp decline in the country’s birth rate. According to a report released by the Korea Institute of Population Research, a private education system that emphasizes out-of-school private academies, known as “hagwons”, cram schools and personal tutoring has resulted in a 28 percent decline in the country’s total fertility rate. The institute’s research showed that the more that parents invest in private education, the fewer children they have. The total fertility rate, which is the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime, stood at 1. 19 in 2020, far below the 2.1 rate considered to be the level needed to maintain a stable population. South Korea’s total fertility rate has been falling steadily over the past 30 years and in 2020 it hit a record low. The low birth rate has been attributed to a combination of factors, including a changing social culture and the rising costs of child-rearing. The report suggested that the country’s competitive education system, which emphasizes private education, discourages people from having children. The report also said that investments in private education are concentrated in areas with high real estate values, which tend to have lower birth rates. The institute recommended that the government take steps to reform the education system and reduce the burden of private education costs on parents. The government has already introduced measures to reduce the role of private academies and encourage public education. However, experts say that more needs to be done to address the problem. “The government needs to take a comprehensive approach to address the issue of low birth rates,” said an expert. “It’s not just about reducing the costs of private education, but also about changing the social culture and values that discourage people from having children.”
South Korean education competition has led to a 28% reduction in birth rates, according to a recent study. Researchers estimate that without competition in private schools, the average number of children per family could be 30% higher. Professor Eum Jeon of Virginia Commonwealth University presented the findings at a joint conference of the Bank of Korea, CEPR, and OECD.
The research, titled 'Status Competition, Intensive Parenting and Korea's Low Fertility,' suggests that 'status competition' drives private education spending to unsustainable levels, suppressing birth rates. The study utilized variables such as regional and temporal changes in the regulation of after-school tutoring to validate the findings.
It was noted that if there were no competition in private schools, the average number of children per family in South Korea could be 28% higher (1.92 to 2.45). The analysis also found that low-income families spend a larger proportion of their income on private education (8.4% for the 1st income quintile, 5.1% for the 5th). Professor Em emphasized the need for a combination of high-income tax and subsidies for child-rearing incentives.
Meanwhile, Professor Hayashi of Japan's Graduate School of Policy Studies highlighted that Japan's long-term stagnation can be largely attributed to an early aging population, which will likely spread to other developed countries in East Asia.
Written by urgent.news from Hankyoreh's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- 내 아이 뒤처지면 어쩌지…‘지위 경쟁’에 한국 출산율 28% 떨어져 hani.co.kr
