The South Korean government is in dire straits. The national birth rate continues to decline and as the population grows older, there aren’t enough children being born to support the country long term. The social issues of post Korean War are coming back to haunt the empowered nation. Being torn apart by the Korean War (nicknamed the forgotten war in America) and with a nation facing starvation, South Korea allowed hundreds of thousands of their children to be adopted abroad. This has created a problem of epidemic proportions, essentially devaluing life in Korea and child rearing. In an effort to encourage birth rates, the government encouraged their workers to go home early and procreate by turning off the lights in buildings. Something unknown to me, was the illegalization of abortion except in special cases. According to the this article, http://joongangdaily.joins.com it’s working. Abortions are down and women are being encouraged to give birth. However the flip side is illegal risky abortions are on the rise, with potential back alley abortions looming. But with a nation facing it’s potential implosion, it has to continue it’s efforts to encourage mothers to give birth. Many of the issues that America has faced is in stark contrast to South Korea. Abortion has been a generally accepted procedure for some time. If you’ll recall, I mentioned South Korea devalued their children. But the nation’s problems lie so much deeper. Being an Asian nation, saving “face” is an important aspect of life. And being an unwed mother disgraces the family. Living as a single mother in South Korea is a difficult life. Most married mothers stay at home to take care of the children. Being a shunned single mother that has a hard time getting a job (because you are a single mother) and affording child care isn’t like life in America. If we in the states suddenly faced a birthrate crisis, what would the U.S. government do?
