The number of births in South Korea rose in 2024 for the first time since 2015 and is expected to continue to increase in 2025. The uptick in the birth rate is slight and far from reaching sustainable numbers, but it is viewed as a hopeful turn from dwindling birth rates that placed the nation in danger of seeing its 51 million population halved by the end of the century.
Fides reported on figures released by the Korea Institute of Statistics that placed the number of Korean births at 238,300 in 2024, which is 8,300 higher than in 2023. This brought the birthrate up from .75 births per woman to .78, still far below the suggested 2.1 births per woman that would represent a sustainable birth rate. It is however expected to continue to rise in 2025, by as much as 10,000 compared to last year.
Cultural shift?
The Institute of Statistics listed three reasons to explain the growth: the population in the fertile age group has increased, more marriages after delays by the pandemic, and the beginning of a perceived “cultural” shift in the perspectives of young people towards marriage.
In an effort to continue the trend, the government has plans to offer more social incentives to have children, from extending parental leave for men to increasing the tax support for companies that balance work and family life, as well as increasing awareness about work-life balance in employees. Last year, a new ministry was proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol to implement new policies to address the “national demographic crisis.”
In the Fides report, Fr. Oh Seok-jun, head of the Seoul Archdiocese Committee for Life, commented that the low birth rate is not a “matter of numbers” that can be fixed with reproductive technology. He encouraged Koreans to look at the birth rate from a “spiritual and hopeful point of view”:
"A child is a gift of grace granted by the Lord through the perfect union of love between a man and a woman. This is why the Catholic Church, in its pastoral care with young people and couples, invites them to look to the future with hope."
He went on to note that the approach also characterizes the Holy Year, which proceeds under the motto “Pilgrims of Hope.” As part of the Jubilee festivities, Yeokchon-dong parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul held a "Blessing Ceremony for Families with Three or More Children” in February.
Yuliana Kim Min-jeong, head of the family department in the parish, said the goal was to sensitize couples to the protection of life in order to overcome the low birth rates for Korea to continue to thrive:
"It was good for the faithful to see how couples with three children live a life of faith and turn to the Lord in these rough times. We hope that their testimony will have a positive influence and give encouragement and hope to young couples,” Yuliana commented.
