Abstract
In Korea, the birthrate has continued to decrease with modernization policy and economic development after the 1960s. The total fertility rate decreased to 1.08 in 2005 because birth control and marriage postponement had advanced as well after the economic crisis of 1997. As in Japan, reasons for the birthrate decrease can be found in the difficulty of caring for a child while also working, changes in marriage values, educational costs, and an unstable environment. After the economic crisis, the Korean government pushed an economic form of neo-liberalism. Social welfare was hurriedly promoted to provide a social safety net and to address the decrease in the birthrate. Under the formation of a welfare state and in a neo-liberal economy the mutually beneficial cooperation of the citizens is requested. This mutually beneficial cooperation makes the family, and the woman, often bear the load both in the office and at home. If fundamental reforms to the social structure of familism are not executed, it will be difficult to mitigate the falling birthrate. In this paper, the background to the declining birthrate is first clarified. Then, the features of the welfare state reorganization and the directivity of the birthrate decrease are verified.
