South Korea’s birthrate, the lowest in the world, rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, as more couples tied the knot after pandemic delays, and as policy efforts to incentivise companies and Koreans to embrace parenthood start to pay off.
Nam Hyun-jin, 35, who had her second daughter last August, said she had seen a social shift, driven largely by the government’s broadened policy support and more companies joining the efforts.
“The society as a whole is encouraging childbirth more than five years ago when we had our first child,” Nam said.
And, more importantly, “it’s the company culture of encouraging childbirth that is providing huge help”. said Nam, whose employer, Booyoung, started to give out 100 million (R1.2m) won ($70 000) from last year to its…
