The latest forecast by Statistics Korea puts the population in 2072 at 36.2 million, a 30% decline from the current 51.7 million, even though the fertility rate may recover a bit to 0.68 in 2026. The population is expected to fall every year starting in 2025.
Nothings gonna change unless something changes.
It’s probably work and wealth inequality that’s the biggest driver for this.
There’s also a massive and rising anti-feminist incel subculture, which the current President Yoon took power from. Women in South Korea don’t trust men in South Korea as much.
Insane work culture, huge wealth inequality, and rising anti-women movements all hurt birth rates.
Same in Japan. And it’s not just pop singers. Just saw a YouTube video about how a Japanese weather channel uses cute women to gain popularity and it’s basically the same strategy as what they do with idols. These women have to keep their dating life secret. Because they have to seem eligible to their fans. People on the internet found out that one of these weather girls was dating a tennis player. And lots of fans got really mad. Then in the video they showed an event where fans can see the weather girls live on stage and the audience was 99% men in their 30’s and 40’s. It’s no surprise that Japan is infertile when a significant portion of their men rather wants to be in parasocial relationship with a woman who’s miles out of their league then be in a real relationship.
Also many Japanese men are otaku, it’s men who are super obsessed with their hobbies. But Japan being Japan these men take it to their extreme. They spend so much time on their hobbies that they don’t have time for other things like dating. They for example rather take pictures of trains than try to find a partner.
And prostitution is way more normalized and socially accepted in Japan and Korea. Many Japanese women don’t even think it’s cheating if their husband visits a prostitute.
Combine all of that with extremely long working hours, cost of living and expensive housing it’s not a surprise that these two countries have much lower birth rates than other developed nations. Why would their men go trough all the trouble of finding a spouse, getting kids and spend a shit ton of money on them when they can just fantasize of being in a relationship with a beautiful woman, play with their toys and then visit a prostitute to get off when society doesn’t shame these men for their infantile behavior but rather exploits it.
They for example rather take pictures of trains than try to find a partner.
I see nothing wrong with this personally.
Nor to have one of the longest and hardest military services in the world.
They need better labor laws there.
It seems for the past few years, it keeps going lower than predicted, and thus the predications keep going down. I wouldn’t be surpised if it instead bottomed out at 0.51 in say 2030
Definitely good news for marine life.
