South Korea’s ‘YOLO’ Generation Isn’t Helping Falling Birthrate

Younger South Koreans disillusioned by the rising cost of living and sky-high home prices have been spending their won on themselves instead of starting families.

The trend comes as Seoul desperately seeks ways to boost the country’s fertility rate, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called a national emergency.

This rate is the lowest in the world at 0.72 babies expected per woman in 2023, down from 0.78 in 2022, and has prompted the country to spend nearly $300 billion over 16 years on initiatives ranging from childcare subsidies to cash handouts.

The country is even launching a new government ministry to coordinate national efforts amid fears the shifting demographics will sap productivity in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

These efforts have yet to convince many in Generations Y and Z, though, to start families.

“They are status hunting. Their high spending habits show young people are working on their own emblems of success online rather than focusing on the impossible goals of settling down and have children,” Seoul Women’s University sociology professor Jung Jae-hoon told Reuters.

South Koreans splash out more on luxury goods per capita than consumers in any other country, according to a 2023 poll by financial services provider Morgan Stanley.

South Koreans pay $325 per capita for these items compared to the $210 for Japanese and $280 for Americans.

Shoppers in their 20s and 30s, in particular, spend the most at department stores, with the former spending nearly twice as much—12 percent—as three years ago, while all other age brackets spent less, according to credit card company Hyundai Card.

While spending is up, savings rates are down. According to the country’s central bank, Koreans in their 30s set aside an average 28.5 percent of their income in the first quarter versus 29.4 percent in Q1 2019.

“I’m all about YOLO” 28-year-old fashion Instagrammer and Seoul resident Park Yeon told Reuters, using the acronym for “you only live once.” “There isn’t enough left to save each month after I do things to reward myself. Getting married might happen at some point but being happy right now—that’s more important, right?” she said.

The South Korean embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Jennifer Sciubba, president and CEO of the nonprofit statistics firm Population Reference, pointed out the marriage, which is strongly correlated with childbirth in East Asia, has become “less of a rite of passage” for younger generations in the region.

“It has less economic utility for people, particularly women, than it had in the past,” Sciubba said.

Based on what up-and-coming adults are saying, South Korean policymakers have their work cut out for them.

A survey conducted last year by South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family published in May showed 38.5 percent of 13-24 year olds saw marriage as necessary, a drop of 12.5 points since 2017. Six in 10 expressed that it’s not necessary to have children if they get married.

She pointed out prospective parents weigh a number of factors, adding that the measures introduced so far, such as cash subsidies and maternity leave, have proven inadequate given the sacrifices being asked of working Korean women.