By Chung Hye-jin

Boisterous children running around neighborhoods have become a thing of the past in Korea. Many Koreans would agree that the number of children playing in neighborhoods has decreased conspicuously over the years.

Some people may enjoy the new peace and quiet, but the change comes with a price ― Korea's birthrate has fallen to being one of the lowest in the developed world.

In 2010, Korea's birthrate was 1.2 children per woman, lower than China's, which was 1.6 even with an aggressive one-child policy.

If Korea's birthrate continues to fall, it will eventually decrease the number of economically active people, weakening Korea's growth- potential and national competitiveness.

In addition, the low birthrate will lead to domestic market contraction and also increase the burden of supporting the elderly.

To prevent such problems, the decline in Korea's birthrate must be turned around. Three possible solutions to the problem are expanding financial support for multiple-child families, improving strict working conditions and changing people's negative or indifferent perceptions of having children.

In order to promote childbirth, the first solution is to expand support for multiple-child families. One of the main causes for the low birthrate is the high cost of raising and educating a child in Korea.

From baby strollers to job-interview suits, supporting a child is a great expense for Korean families. In response to high demand, various scholarships were given to students from multiple-child families to lessen the economic strains on them.

For example, full university scholarships were given to the third child of a family, starting this year. However, such benefits may eventually increase the amount of tax people need to pay for social welfare, offsetting the decreased tuition burden.

Another solution is to improve the strict working conditions for employees. The current working conditions in Korea are unfavorable for having children. Parents are required to work long hours, meaning they do not have adequate time to spend with their families. In addition, baby breaks are greatly limited for both mothers and fathers and, at times, not given at all.

Therefore, better working conditions such as flexible working hours or guaranteed baby breaks would encourage parents to have more children. Unfortunately, experts say sufficient time and money for raising a child is not enough; traditional lifestyles that value having children are vanishing, which is another major cause of the low birthrate.

Thus, the last and best solution would be to change people's perceptions of having children. The lifestyles and values of people have changed over the years, and more people feel that having children is no longer a necessity.

As a result, family units such as DINKs ― short for double income and no kids ― continue to increase. However, wanting to preserve one's species by reproduction is a part of human instinct.

Therefore, despite the low birthrate, television programs starring famous figures and their children, such as "Dad! Where Are You Going?" or "Superman Comes Back," are enjoying high viewer ratings and tremendous popularity. Viewers not only enjoy the fun family moments, but also empathize with the hardships the families face.

Such programs, along with other campaigns and advertisements, could revitalize traditional values, eventually promoting that couples have children. Although time and money are prerequisites when having children, it will be of no use without a change in people's perceptions. Positive perceptions of childbirth could lead to more awareness of the low birthrate and bring about further government action.

Korea is already an aging society, and the low birthrate aggravates this situation. Economic incentives for multiple-child families or improved working conditions would encourage more families to have more children.

But most importantly, people's negative or indifferent perception of having children must be changed. If Korea takes no measures at all, not only neighborhoods, but also parks, theaters and schools will eventually be void of children. What would then become of Korea?

Chung Hye-jin is an English literature senior at Chung-ang University.