Study Rationale 

○ Given the current situation where extremely low fertility and population decline are becoming deeply rooted, financial support alone is insufficient to restore the fertility rate. Therefore, it is essential to understand young people’s perceptions and policy needs regarding marriage, fertility, and childcare. Identifying their changing perceptions on marriage, fertility, and childcare provides significant baseline data and serves as a starting point for setting policy directions across a wide range of areas, including population structure of current and future societies, population policies, welfare systems, and employment and housing policies.

○ To develop effective, customized fertility policies that resonate with the youth, we must fully understand their particular perceptions and needs. This begins by asking, “What conditions would enable them to have children?” and “What are the obstacles?” instead of simply asking, “Why are they not doing it?” Perceptions on Marriage, Fertility, and Childcare Among Jeonbuk Youth  

○ Perceptions on Marriage. 72.2% of the youth surveyed had positive perceptions of marriage. The ideal age for marriage was 32.9 years old for unmarried men and 31.2 years old for unmarried women. 59.4% expressed willingness to marry (20.7% “Want to get married now” and 38.7% “Want to get married someday”), with the percentage lower for women than for men Among both unmarried men and women, the most frequently selected reason for being willing to get married but not yet married was “Not met the right person” (38.5%). Additionally, certain conditions appear to have a positive effect on the willingness of unmarried youth to pursue marriage, including “Housing cost support” (27.9%) and “Creation of satisfactory jobs” (26.0%)

○ Perceptions on Pregnancy and Childbirth. 70.1% of responses were positive, stating that “Having children is necessary,” with the ideal number of children found to be 1.82. Among the unmarried youth, 38.7% said they had no intention of having children, citing as the primary reasons: “Because pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare seem difficult” (21.8%), “Because of the pressure of childcare and education costs” (16.1%), and “Because maintaining work–family balance seems difficult” (12.7%).Among married youth with children, only 15.7% were willing to have more children. The primary reasons mentioned for reluctance to have additional children were “Financial pressure of childbirth, childcare, and education” (28.8%) and “Difficulty of pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare” (18.8%). Moreover, 25.3% of married youth experienced difficulties becoming pregnant, and among those facing such challenges, 26.1% were diagnosed with infertility within 1 to 2 years of marriage. During infertility treatment and associated testing, the most frequently cited difficulty was psychological and emotional distress, followed by the economic burden.

○ Perceptions on Childcare and Work–Family Balance. A significant number of respondents, 8 in 10, indicated that the current policies supporting childcare were still insufficient. When asked about the prerequisites needed to achieve work–family balance, 47.8% stated “Reducing work hours and securing time for childcare,” and 25.5% stated “Creating a social (workplace) atmosphere regarding the use of childcare support systems and flexible work hours.” Additionally, when questioned about what was needed to promote more balanced work–family systems, 24.7% stated "Minimization of pay reduction due to system use” and 23.1% stated “Strengthening the compensation of acting personnel.”

○ Perceptions and Policy Needs Regarding Low Fertility. The majority of the youth replied that they found the “Low fertility phenomenon of Jeonbuk” to be “serious” (average score: 7.56 out of 10). They rated the measures taken by their local government to address low fertility as below average, giving them a score of 4.83 out of 10 points. The youth selected the following as the causes of low fertility: “Workplace culture that makes work–family balance difficult” (25.8%), “Lack of quality jobs for the youth” (22.1%), and “Burden of high housing costs” (14.5%). To alleviate low fertility, respondents requested “Creation of stable jobs” (20.4%), “Support for purchasing a home” (18.7%), and “Support to balance work and childcare” (15.7%) as necessary policies. Furthermore, they cited “Social media” and “Internet portals” as the most preferred channels of policy promotion. Policy Directions to Address Low Fertility Reflecting the Perceptions and Needs of Jeonbuk Youth

○ Based on the study results, five policy directions, along with detailed tasks for each policy direction, have been identified. They include: first, enhancing marriage accessibility and relationship-building opportunities for the youth; second, improving marriage and childbirth conditions by providing stable jobs and housing; third, expanding childcare and caregiving support and creating an environment that fosters work–family balance’ fourth, strengthening lifecycle-based reproductive health, pregnancy, and childbirth support systems; and lastly, creating a gender-equal childcare environment and increasing social acceptability of diverse forms of family. 

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