1. Cost of living and child care
2. Work, stress and lack of free time
3. Little to no support from society and community.
The reason this is affecting Korea, Japan and China so much is that there aren't many immigrants to offset the lack of new children being born.
There is a lot of wealth being generated but most of it goes to people who are already wealthy, so most people don't have the "luxury" of enough disposable income, free time, and support to have children.
This is not women's fault, its society's failing
When countries get richer, people start having fewer kids, and giving parents money does not offset this (even if that's what people say they want).
When a couple has a child they have to consider both the cost of the child (food, education, childcare) and also the potential lost earnings that they’re suffering from by taking time off work to look after it.
Packing even more people into these nations, with the added political tensions of making them foreign immigrants vs domestic growth of native population would exacerbate the original problem with added downside.
Look at the density, cost of living and other factors that flow from "too many people in one place". The natural counter trend must run its course.
South Korea has a TFR of .7. France is 1.6. Those aren't the same, and the difference isn't immigration, or easily explained by money. There are huge cultural issues in South Korea.
I don't have a solution for these women, but I notice that the BBC spent a year interviewing Korean women, but no Korean men.
I think a solution for the Korean men who maybe want children and wives who neither want careers of their own nor who insist that the domestic duties be split evenly would be something equivalent to the United States's H1-B Visa: namely, aspiring Korean husbands should be able to sponsor and marry foreign wives when no suitable native born candidates can be found.
Nearly any foreign wife will be eaten alive by how competitive Korea is. Even worse, everyone else in that society will look down on them for not putting their children through the same things - like spending more than they can on extra-curriculars that start at age 4.
The second especially sounds like a recipe for a truly miserable marriage
Wonder what that IV is full of?
I've had them a few times, to be sure, they make you feel awesome.
1. https://expatguidekorea.com/seoul/hydration-iv-therapy-seoul
There's no country with people primarily living in high-rise buildings where TFR is measurably above 1.
>Couples who have children are showered with cash, from monthly handouts to subsidised housing and free taxis. Hospital bills and even IVF treatments are covered, though only for those who are married.
It's not pay after you have a baby that makes people want to have a baby, it's job stability, decent pay and working hours that makes people want to have children.
