While China’s decision to let couples have two kids grabbed headlines around the world, its neighbor South Korea has been doing some revolutionary thinking of its own on how to make more babies.
With a rapidly aging population and the third-lowest fertility rate in the world, officials in Seoul have come up with 200 pages of proposals that include a suggestion for local authorities to play Cupid by arranging matchmaking gatherings for singles.
With a rapidly aging population and the third-lowest fertility rate in the world, officials in Seoul have come up with 200 pages of proposals that include a suggestion for local authorities to play Cupid by arranging matchmaking gatherings for singles.
Similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population decline and the fact they are being considered at all underscore the depth of the problems in East Asia as its biggest economies mature.
Other options being floated in Korea range from giving young couples priority for public housing, state-backed campaigns to encourage marriage and more support for people seeking fertility treatment.
“The low birth rate could become a national catastrophe unless the government really acknowledges the significance of the issue,” said Kang Hye Ryun, a professor of business administration at Ewha University in Seoul.
The government is taking feedback this month before the release in December of a five-year plan to raise the birth rate and combat aging. Meanwhile, in China on Tuesday, the State Council Information Office will hold a briefing on implementing its new two-child policy.
South Korea’s fertility rate was 1.2 in 2013, the third-lowest in the world after Hong Kong and Macao, according to the World Bank. That’s despite the government spending 81.2 trillion won ($70 billion) since 2006 to address the problem, ruling party lawmaker Shim Jae Chul said last month.
Unless there is improvement in the birth rate, annual growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy will begin to fall and by the 2050s it may be as low as 1 percent, according to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
The government wants to raise the average number of babies a woman has to 1.5 by 2020 and to 2.1 by 2045.
"Raising the birth rate is especially hard in Korea because of a corporate culture that's unfavorable to a work-life balance,'' said Lee Jong Wha, a Seoul-based professor of economics at Korea University and former chief economist at the Asian Development Bank. "China has just abandoned its one-child rule and it has room for more policy changes in the future.''
The government is taking feedback this month before the release in December of a five-year plan to raise the birth rate and combat aging. Meanwhile, in China on Tuesday, the State Council Information Office will hold a briefing on implementing its new two-child policy.
South Korea’s fertility rate was 1.2 in 2013, the third-lowest in the world after Hong Kong and Macao, according to the World Bank. That’s despite the government spending 81.2 trillion won ($70 billion) since 2006 to address the problem, ruling party lawmaker Shim Jae Chul said last month.
Unless there is improvement in the birth rate, annual growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy will begin to fall and by the 2050s it may be as low as 1 percent, according to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
The government wants to raise the average number of babies a woman has to 1.5 by 2020 and to 2.1 by 2045.
"Raising the birth rate is especially hard in Korea because of a corporate culture that's unfavorable to a work-life balance,'' said Lee Jong Wha, a Seoul-based professor of economics at Korea University and former chief economist at the Asian Development Bank. "China has just abandoned its one-child rule and it has room for more policy changes in the future.''
When I was reading this I still couldn’t believe that a law just passed to have 2 kids in China. I think it should be the parents’ choice to have however many kids they want, it’s their family and their life. Right now China has “the rapidly aging population and the third-lowest fertility rate in the world” (Bloomberg). I think the government should not get involved with people’s amount of people they have in their family.
ReplyDeleteMegan Welter Per. 2
I agree. It's the parents decision whether or not they want children, and how many they want. "China has just abandoned its one-child rule and it has room for more policy changes in the future.''. Its crazy that they have the right to tell people these things. It's part of human nature and I do not think there should be a requirement or limit for this topic.
DeleteI agree.This is easily the most ridiculous thing I've heard. "Similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population decline", This line from the article shows that these laws and restrictions the country is putting on their people aren't even working. The fact the restrictions aren't even working is one more logical reason to stop this absurd concept. We are really free in the country we live in which is why it seems so odd to hear something like this even be discussed in other countries. If you want to have a lot of kids, that is completely your business. If you don't want any kids at all that is also totally fine. It is all about personal choice, your personal choices shouldn't be influenced by a restricting government. - Sabrina Shaw Per. 4
DeleteBailey Wetzel-4th
ReplyDeleteI was reading this and towards the end i saw this curios statement,"The government wants to raise the average number of babies a woman has to 1.5 by 2020 and to 2.1 by 2045" (Bloomberg). I immediately thought that it is not the government position to command women to have more babies and to have a predestined partner in life. I also thought that over the past few centuries, the population has been slowly growing, and doing something to make that go faster will surely cause problems of living space and food.
I think there is a very simple solution. The idea is: let people have as many children as they want. Yes, I understand that in cities like China, there isn't much room. There are so, so, so many people living there. If that is the case, in which you cannot live in the city, live in the suburbs. Lots of people do, and those people, who's jobs are in the city, commute. Hundreds of thousands of people commute everyday. Not just in China, but all around the world.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that the government should get involved with the amount of children that people are having. It is interesting that "Other options being floated in Korea range from giving young couples priority for public housing, state-backed campaigns to encourage marriage and more support for people seeking fertility treatment" (Bloomberg). It is not really fair to other people if the government provides priority for public housing to only young couples. Having a sudden population growth may create more problems such as lack of housing, food, and other resources. I agree with the comments above that the government should just let people have as many children as they want.
ReplyDeleteI think this solution is a easy and simple one that anyone can think of. But forcing couples to date because law enforcement says so is the wrong way because as stated in the article "Similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population " . meaning that even the lowest populated country practices like this have yet to show that they even work, showing that they should find another way to play "cupid" for their Korean populace.
ReplyDeletePeriod:1
I believe there is a point where the government can step in and say no more kids because China holds 1 BILLION people America is nowhere near that 318 million and America is so much bigger than China. I understand though since the population is so old that they need kids but, I disagree with some people saying that they can have as many kids as they want.
ReplyDeleteAn environment can only support so many of a species before it becomes problematic, so it makes sense that China would limit the numberof kids a couple can have. Korea can offer incentives to make the couples have more kids. The government could offer affordable housing and a better work/parenthood balance (maternity leave). They can't force people to have kids but they can make having them more desirable.
ReplyDeleteI think that "The government wants to raise the average number of babies a woman has to 1.5 by 2020 and to 2.1 by 2045." is ridiculous. It is not the government who is raising the children, it's the parents. Since it is the parents raising the children, I think that it should 100% be up to the parents and the opinion of anyone else is irrelevant. The government has a big say in many things, but I don't think this should be one of them.
ReplyDeleteAubrey Koenigs
Period 6
It's the parents decision whether or not they want children. You shouldn't force a couple to have kids. Even if they want kids, the government shouldn't tell the couple how many to have. "Similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population," from this quote, it looks like the country just wants to increase it's population. They can't force people to have kids but, they can persuade those people. It shouldn't be a law.
ReplyDeleteIn China they are trying to solve a problem that isn't up to them to fix its up to the adults in china if they want to have children or not. "similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population", this is showing that countries are trying to affect and increase the amount of people in their countries for reasons unknown. Human rights state that people have right of choice in all situations so I don't think that law enforcement should be able to play cupid and affect peoples lives like that.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the government is telling people how many kids they have to have is astounding. You should be able to have as many kids as you want. Whether is be 0 or 4. Playing cupid is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. This is pretty amazing, and not in a good way.
ReplyDeleteAside from the fact that people should be in charge of what they do with their body, this is a real problem that can be bad for the country. Like Kang Hye Ryun said, “The low birth rate could become a national catastrophe unless the government really acknowledges the significance of the issue,”. If people aren't having kids the population isn't going to grow and things will go bad. People should also be able to have however many kids they want. If it's your body you should do what you want with it. If someone wants three kids, they should be able to. The same for if you dont even want any kids at all.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is not very nice that they only letting people in china have two kids. If a family wants to have more than two kids they should be able to have that right. Korea has been doing some "thinking of its own on how to make more babies" (Bloomberg). The government should not be deciding how much babies they want the people to have. A couple needs to be able to decide for themselves how many children they want.
ReplyDeleteKaci Pebley period 2
I do think that it is great that parents are allowed to have multiple kids now. I don't think that it was fair to limit parents of having multiple kids, since that should be their choice. However, China has a rapidly growing population, and a huge amount of people living in the borders, but I do this this is something they have considered when deciding this. It is sad that we do have to come to parents limiting the amount of kids they have because of overpopulation. Seoul is in need of having multiple kids though. The government needs to take action of this.“The low birth rate could become a national catastrophe unless the government really acknowledges the significance of the issue”(Bloomberg). Parents need to have more kids. There is not enough people to fulfill the needs of the growing country. But, some families may be having financial problems, and not being able to afford raising another kid, so if they government could give the citizens some type of benefits to it, I do think that would raise the birth rate, since more parents would feel comfortable raising another kid comfortably.
ReplyDelete- Muzamil Ahmad p.6
"China’s decision to let couples have two kids" (China Ends Its One-Child Policy). This is a big step in the right direction for China. Although I am opposed for their to be a limit on the amount of children you can have, China is taking a huge step forward. This will hopefully allow for there to be more of a fertility rate in China. But you can't force anyone to have more babies than they want to.
ReplyDeleteAidan Flynn p.6
I agree with you Aidan because they should not limit how many kids you are aloud to have. It is a step in the right direction but they should not limit a couple of how many children they can have. Once they drop all these types of laws then it will make people have more freedom of how many children people can have. Once again I agree with you Aidan
DeleteI don't think that it is right for the parents to only have one kid. As it says in the article "While China’s decision to let couples have two kids grabbed headlines around the world, its neighbor South Korea has been doing some revolutionary thinking of its own on how to make more babies." The people should have the freedom to choose as many kids as they want. If the parents only had one kid and it was a girl, there last name would no longer be their last name."China has just abandoned its one-child rule and it has room for more policy changes in the future." If you only had one child, they would be lonely and not know how it feels to have siblings.
ReplyDeleteI am really appalled by the fact that the government is limiting the amount of children couples can have. I understand that the population in places like China is through the roof, but families should not be limited. Along the same lines, I don't think you can force people to have more children either, sort of how what they're doing in South Korea. It's good that they're encouraging raising the average fertility rate by "...giving young couples priority for public housing, state-backed campaigns to encourage marriage and more support for people seeking fertility treatment" (Bloomberg). This is a very big step forward for both China and South Korea, but I think that couples should be able to choose how many children they want.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article the quote "China has just abandoned its one-child rule and it has room for more policy changes in the future.'' (Bloomberg). I was surprised and glad for China abandoning the "one-child rule". I think couples in China should have as many children as the want. Although for South Korea I was surprised they are the third-lowest in the world for fertility rate was 1.2. (Bloomberg)
ReplyDeleteI just hope they find a solution to their problem.
-Tyra Cardenas 5th period
I do not agree that family's should only be limited to 2 kids in China. I think that it should be up to the adults in the family to decide. Also, I believe South Korea does need to find a solution to their low fertility rate. But, matching couples together to eventually have children together is not the way to go. "Other options being floated in Korea range from giving young couples priority for public housing..." (Bloomberg). I think that simple solutions like this could encourage other families to have kids, but again, the responsibility of raising a child should not be forced upon anyone.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Siegel 2
The government job is to make laws that will improve the environment. China's government should not have made a law limiting the number of kids parents should have. It is the parents job to decide if they want to have kids or not, and how many they should have. Everyone should decide on what to do their life, whether its having kids or not. I understand that the population of China is huge, but limiting the number of having kids will not solve their problems.
ReplyDelete- Sheila Ordukhani per2
Though I do see where Chinas point of view is coming from, with having the number of children be restricted, I think it should be changed slightly. The world has 7 billion people on it, causing food and other necessary items to become more scarce. Though I don't think there should be laws about having more than one/two children, I think there should be something that keeps it low. A small fine could be in place for people with over a certain amount of children and it could be discuraged. Yes, it's the parents decision, but to what extent is the number of people getting out of hand?
ReplyDeleteI think it is silly that the government is getting involved with how many babies women can have. Everyone should have natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Having children falls under natural rights. "The government wants to raise the average number of babies a woman has to 1.5 by 2020 and to 2.1 by 2045." This is an example when government is getting too controlling. The government needs to let people decide for themselves how many babies women should have.
ReplyDeleteI think it should be the parents choice to have as many children as they want. It's crazy that China's government just passed the law to let parents have two kids. If they think that they are too overcrowded then they could try having people live more spread out so everyone isn't on top of each other in big cities. The law that they made to only let people have one kid is catching up to them now and it's good that they are letting their people have a little bit of a larger family if they want it.
ReplyDeleteAlena Romero Per. 5
For the government to change the rule of how many children a couple can have is good but not right. "Unless there is improvement in the birth rate, annual growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy will begin to fall and by the 2050s it may be as low as 1 percent"(lines 28-30). If they don't want the population to decrease they should let the couples have as many children as their hearts desire. For your government to tell you on how many children they want you instead of how many you want to have is inhumane. The governments of China, Japan, and South Korea should think over the situation on what the people think of the child limitation law.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I find it astonishing that the government is controlling the number of children a couple wishes to have. It is a choice that is completely in the hands of that couple, and should not be tampered with by the government. And the fact that "China... [has made the] decision to let couples have two kids" (line 1), is crazy because the government should not "let" the couples make this personal decision, they should be given this natural right. Now that they have become the third lowest fertile country in the world, they have faced the reality that “The low birth rate could become a national catastrophe” (Kang Hye Ryun). However the "playing cupid" approach is not going to solve what the real problem is here. The number of children a couple has should be their own decision.
ReplyDelete-Sydney Crozier, Period 2
Having the government choose how many children a couple should have is not right. People should be able to decide how many children they want. Also the fact that Seoul is going to force matchmaking service on single people so they are obligated to have children isn't right either. "Officials in Seoul have come up with 200 pages of proposals that include a suggestion for local authorities to play Cupid by arranging matchmaking gatherings for singles"(Bloomberg). People should be able to choose if they want a relationship or not and if they do , to be able to choose if they want kids or not. Forcing decisions like that on people isn't right.
ReplyDeleteI think that is good that the government has changed the birth rate laws to help their country in the overall aspect of things in the future. The government had the right intentions of trying to ensure there was not an overpopulation issue. "Unless there is improvement in the birth rate, annual growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy will begin to fall and by the 2050s it may be as low as 1 percent"(Korea Institute of Health. There are some ethical issues with enforcing a child restriction on citizens. In my opinion, having a child limit violates basic human rights. A mother should have the right to bare as many children as they please.
ReplyDeleteAlexis Miller
Period 6
It is a good thing that china changed their one-child policy, but it was a good thing that they had that policy. There are 1.4 billion people in china and there are 7.35 billion people in the world. China has 1/7 of the world's population. And there are already to many people in the world. And when china had the one-child policy, boys were what you wanted to have because they carry the family name. On the other hand, girls do not carry the family name because they marry and then get a different last name. So if you had a girl, you would either put it up for adoption or get an abortion. The ratio of boys to girls in china is about a 10-20 million difference. That's why it is a good thing that china upped there policy to two-children.
ReplyDelete"With a rapidly aging population and the third-lowest fertility rate in the world, officials in Seoul have..." (Bloomberg). South Korea has the third-lowest fertility rate. This country is facing huge economic problems in their future, unless they're able to change their birth rate very soon. The government has to make it more attractive to have children. Switzerland has the same problem. Our native population is decreasing, and the only way to safe the annual growth in future is to allow more immigrants to become swiss people, which often causes cultural issues.
ReplyDeleteBruno Wilhelm, Period 5
The government job is to make laws that will improve the environment. China's government should not have made a law limiting the number of kids parents should have. It is the parents job to decide if they want to have kids or not, and how many they should have. Everyone should decide on what to do their life, whether its having kids or not. I understand that the population of China is huge, but limiting the number of having kids will not solve their problems.
ReplyDelete