logo
Most young people in Korea view marriage and childbirth with mix of sadness, fear, disgust

Most young people in Korea view marriage and childbirth with mix of sadness, fear, disgust

Despite a slight rebound in South Korea's total fertility rate in 2024, young people overwhelmingly associate marriage and childbirth with negative emotions such as sadness, fear and disgust, according to a new study.
Advertisement
The Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future (KPPIF), a non-profit population policy research institute, analysed roughly 50,000 posts related to marriage, childbirth and parenting on the workplace community platform Blind.
The findings highlight the prevailing negative perceptions towards marriage and childbirth among young people.
The study examined posts from December 2017 to November 2024 using frequency, topic, network and sentiment analysis to gain insights into young people's perspectives, the institute said.
Couples walk along a street in the Sinchon area of Seoul. Photo: AFP
According to the sentiment analysis, more than 60 per cent of posts on marriage, childbirth and parenting expressed negative emotions.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Peace of mind': Patient companions ease pain of China's bustling, bamboozling hospitals
‘Peace of mind': Patient companions ease pain of China's bustling, bamboozling hospitals

HKFP

time6 days ago

  • HKFP

‘Peace of mind': Patient companions ease pain of China's bustling, bamboozling hospitals

At a bustling Beijing hospital, Tian Yigui hands over some of his elderly wife's paperwork to Meng Jia, a 'patient companion' hired to help navigate China's stretched and bureaucratic healthcare system. Yawning funding gaps and patchy medical coverage have long funnelled many Chinese people towards better-resourced city hospitals for much-needed care. Sprawling, overcrowded and noisy, the facilities can be exhausting for patients and their families, especially the elderly. The problem has fuelled the rise of patient companions, or 'peizhenshi', a lucrative and unofficial service in the country's growing gig economy. Tian, 83, said most Beijing hospitals were 'overwhelmingly confusing'. 'We have to go up and down all the floors, wait for elevators, wait in lines… it's really troublesome,' he told AFP. Elsewhere at the People's Liberation Army General Hospital in the Chinese capital, patients faced long queues, myriad check-ins and a whirl of digital payment codes. Hospital aides wearing bright red sashes rattled off directions into headsets as hundreds of patients filed through the colossal lobby. Armed with a sheaf of papers at a traditional Chinese medicine ward, Meng breezed through check-in before joining Tian and wife Gao Yingmin in a consultation room. Leaving Gao to rest in a waiting area, Meng then brought Tian to a payment counter before explaining to the couple how to pick up prescribed medications. For a four-hour service, patient companions like Meng charge around 300 yuan (US$40). It is worth every penny for Gao, 78, who is undergoing treatment for complications from throat surgery. The helpers are 'convenient, practical and (give us) peace of mind', she said, straining against a breathing tube. 'We no longer have to worry… they do all the work for us.' 'Real need' Hundreds of advertisements for patient companions have sprung up on Chinese social media in recent years. Embed from Getty Images Authorities appear to allow the companions in hospitals because they are broadly in line with the government's promotion of health services for seniors. Meng, 39, had no medical background before enrolling in a weeklong training programme run by Chengyi Health, an online platform that connects patients and companions. Founder Li Gang, a former anaesthesiologist, said 'there's a big knowledge gap when it comes to medical care'. Large Chinese hospitals can have over 50 clinical departments, each with numerous sub-specialities. That means many people 'don't know how to go to the doctor', Li said. While some young people — such as expectant mothers — hire companions, some two-thirds of Chengyi's clients are aged 60 or older. Trainee Tao Yuan, 24, said he left his job at an internet company to pursue a vocation 'more valuable than money'. A generation born under China's now-abolished one-child policy are approaching middle age and caring for their elderly parents alone. Increasing work and family pressure had left them with a 'real need' for help, Tao said. Ageing nation China's healthcare system has long struggled to tackle deep-seated regional funding gaps and inconsistent access to equipment and medical staff. Limited treatment options, especially in rural areas, push many patients into municipal hospitals for comparatively minor ailments. Embed from Getty Images 'It's a perennial structure problem,' said Wang Feng, an expert on Chinese demographics at the University of California, Irvine. Working adults have no time to take elderly parents to hospital, while technology cannot yet replace human caregivers, he said. China 'will have a larger… demand for personal assistance' as the elderly account for an ever bigger proportion of the population, Wang said. Authorities are betting big on the 'silver economy' — products and services for older people, which totalled seven trillion yuan ($970 billion) last year, according to the nonprofit China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service. The figures are a bright spot in an economy struggling to maintain strong growth and robust youth employment. Xiao Shu, who asked to be identified by a nickname for privacy, told AFP he made around 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) per month – a tidy wage in China's competitive capital. But the former dentistry worker said there were limits to the service. The 36-year-old once refused to take a client's nearly 90-year-old father to a post-surgery check-up. 'If something happened to him, who would be responsible for it?' he said.

Glass bottles cap surprising microplastics study
Glass bottles cap surprising microplastics study

RTHK

time20-06-2025

  • RTHK

Glass bottles cap surprising microplastics study

Glass bottles cap surprising microplastics study French researchers found 4.5 particles per litre in glass water bottles to 1.6 particles in their plastic counterparts. File photo: Reuters Drinks including water, soda, beer and wine sold in glass bottles contain more microplastics than those in plastic bottles, according to a surprising study released by France's food safety agency on Friday. Researchers have detected the tiny, mostly invisible pieces of plastic throughout the world, from the air we breathe to the food we eat, as well as riddled throughout human bodies. There's still no direct evidence that this preponderance of plastic is harmful to human health, but a burgeoning field of research is aiming to measure its spread. Guillaume Duflos, research director at French food safety agency Anses, said the team sought to "investigate the quantity of microplastics in different types of drinks sold in France and examine the impact different containers can have". The researchers found an average of around 100 microplastic particles per litre in glass bottles of soft drinks, lemonade, iced tea and beer. That was five to 50 times higher than the rate detected in plastic bottles or metal cans. "We expected the opposite result," said PhD student Iseline Chaib, who conducted the research. "We then noticed that in the glass, the particles emerging from the samples were the same shape, colour and polymer composition – so therefore the same plastic – as the paint on the outside of the caps that seal the glass bottles," she said. The paint on the caps also had "tiny scratches, invisible to the naked eye, probably due to friction between the caps when there were stored", the agency said in a statement. This could then "release particles onto the surface of the caps", it added. For water, both flat and sparkling, the amount of microplastic was relatively low in all cases, ranging from 4.5 particles per litre in glass bottles to 1.6 particles in plastic. Wine also contained few microplastics – even glass bottles with caps. Duflos said the reason for this discrepancy "remains to be explained". Soft drinks, however, contained around 30 microplastics per litre, lemonade 40 and beer around 60. Because there is no reference level for a potentially toxic amount of microplastics, it was not possible to say whether these figures represent a health risk, Anses said. (AFP)

Tokyo feels heat as sweltering temperatures take toll
Tokyo feels heat as sweltering temperatures take toll

RTHK

time18-06-2025

  • RTHK

Tokyo feels heat as sweltering temperatures take toll

Tokyo feels heat as sweltering temperatures take toll The heat wave has taken a toll on at least 57 people in Tokyo on Wednesday and 169 people on Tuesday. Photo: AFP Sweltering temperatures prompted heatstroke alerts in multiple Japanese regions on Wednesday, with dozens of people seeking emergency medical care in the capital Tokyo. The hot weather was headline news in the country, which last year experienced its joint warmest summer ever as climate change fuelled extreme heatwaves around the globe. Record temperatures were logged in 14 cities for June, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, while in central Tokyo the mercury hit 34.4 degrees Celsius. Doctors treated at least 57 people for heat-related malaise in the capital on Wednesday, adding to the 169 people seen on Tuesday. At least three heat-related deaths were reported in other parts of the country this week. Some Tokyo residents wore heat-repellent clothing to beat the high temperatures, like Junko Kobayashi, 73, who showed off her cooling scarf. "I soak it in water and then wrap it around my neck. It feels refreshing. And I use this umbrella too. It blocks the light and heat so it feels cooler," she said. Other elderly residents said they were trying to take it easy so as not to risk heatstroke, while 80-year-old Naoki Ito said he was making sure to regularly drink water. "I don't need to take a big gulp, just a small sip here and there. It's important to remember that," Ito said. Every summer, Japanese officials urge the public, especially elderly people, to seek shelter in air-conditioned rooms to avoid heatstroke. Senior citizens made up more than 80 percent of heat-related deaths in the past five years. Japan is also experiencing a record influx of tourists, with foreign visitors up 21 percent year on year in May. "It's been pretty stinking," said 31-year-old Australian tourist Jack Budd, who was trying to find shade whenever possible with his travel partner. "The breeze is quite warm so it's hard to get out of it unless you go inside," he said. (AFP)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store