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¡°No Other Country Has a '7-Year-Old' Entrance Exam¡±[ESF2025]
ÀԷ½ð£ | 2025.05.28 12:30 | ±è¹Ì°æ ±âÀÚ midory@edaily.co.kr
¨ç says Willem Adema, Senior Economist at the OECD
A Painful Diagnosis of Korea¡¯s 2030 Low Birthrate Crisis
OECD¡¯s view on why Korea¡¯s birthrate is so low
Korea doesn¡¯t need such long working hours
Companies must also foster work¡¤life balance
A Painful Diagnosis of Korea¡¯s 2030 Low Birthrate Crisis
OECD¡¯s view on why Korea¡¯s birthrate is so low
Korea doesn¡¯t need such long working hours
Companies must also foster work¡¤life balance
[Kim Mi-Kyung, Edaily Reporter] ¡°Korea¡¯s highly competitive, credential-focused society perpetuates a vicious cycle that exacerbates the low birthrate,¡± says Willem Adema, Senior Economist at the OECD, who has spent over 30 years researching labor and family policy. He points to excessive private education as a key reason why Korea¡¯s birthrate is uniquely low among OECD countries. The financial burden of high private education costs and relentless competition discourages young people from marriage and parenthood. The very existence of terms like ¡®4-year-old¡¯ and ¡®7-year-old entrance exams¡¯ for elite preschools and academies is a painful indicator of Korea¡¯s overheated private education market, according to this OECD expert.
¡ÞKorea Spends the Most on Private Education Among OECD Countries
In a recent video interview ahead of the Edaily Strategy Forum, Adema noted, ¡°About 80% of Korean students participate in private education. From an early age, they compete fiercely for stable, high-income jobs. No other OECD country sees such high private education costs or intensity.¡±
As a result, many Korean families have no children or only one, while Japanese families are more likely to have two or three.
According to a recent survey from Ministry of Education, Korea¡¯s total private education spending in 2023 reached a record 29.2 trillion Korean won(¡°KRW¡±), up 7.7%(2.1 trillion KRW) from the previous year, despite a decrease of 80,000 students(5,210,000¡æ5,130,000). Monthly per-student private education spending also rose 9.3% to 474,000 KRW.
Adema, who drew attention in Korea for his 2019 report on low birthrates, will deliver the opening keynote at the Edaily Strategy Forum on June 18~19. He cites high private education and housing costs, as well as a culture of long working hours, as the main drivers of Korea¡¯s low birthrate.
The OECD sees fundamental issues like Korea¡¯s dual labor market and university hierarchy as barriers to recovery. Korea¡¯s total fertility rate in 2023 was 0.75?still the lowest in the world, despite a slight rebound.
Adema emphasizes normalizing public education as the solution. He advises ¡°Improving the quality and perceived value of public education shall be required in order to reduce dependence on private education. Systems supporting parental leave and childcare must also be maintained and developed.¡±
¡ÞKorea¡¯s Low Birthrate Policy Scores 7~8 Out of 10
Adema gives Korea¡¯s low birthrate policies a score of 7~8 out of 10. ¡°People need confidence that work¡¤life balance is possible in order to have children. Korea has made progress, but its family support system is still incomplete, and spending on family benefits remains below the OECD average,¡± he says, calling for more development.
He stresses the need for trusted, continuous family policies that provide consistent support for parents of young children. ¡°Policies shouldn¡¯t change drastically every 2 or 3 years. Parental leave and child allowances must not be reduced, and young people need to believe these policies will still exist 5 or 15 years from now. Continued investment in public education can also help reduce reliance on private education.¡±
Adema also points out that government alone is not omnipotent and emphasizes the need for employer cooperation. ¡°There are limits to what government can do. Further increases in the birthrate depend on changes in workplace culture - employers and unions must make work environments more family-friendly,¡± he says.
For instance, Sejong City, with more quality jobs and lower housing prices than Seoul, has a higher average birthrate than other regions.
He adds, ¡°Korea¡¯s working hours don¡¯t need to be so long. Parental leave should be available to both permanent and temporary workers, and pay deductions for taking leave should be reformed. This is an issue for employers, unions, and workers, and also about bridging the generational gap in attitudes.¡±
Adema warns that Korea¡¯s rapid aging will pose even greater challenges. ¡°Population issues arising from low birthrates and aging will increase the burden on younger generations and fuel intergenerational conflict and gender inequality. Mutual respect between men and women, young and old, is essential for social cohesion, and measures to foster this respect are needed,¡± he says.
He predicts that demand for long-term care will continue to rise. ¡°The most important thing is to recognize this issue. It may not be urgent now, but in 30 years it will be a reality. Building a long-term care system to meet rising demand will be a key challenge for Korea¡¯s future.¡±
¡ÞAbout Willem Adema
Willem Adema leads family, gender, and housing policy analysis at the OECD Social Policy Division. He became known in Korea after his 2019 report identifying Korea¡¯s long working hours as a key driver of low birthrates. He holds degrees from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherland and a doctorate from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
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In a recent video interview ahead of the Edaily Strategy Forum, Adema noted, ¡°About 80% of Korean students participate in private education. From an early age, they compete fiercely for stable, high-income jobs. No other OECD country sees such high private education costs or intensity.¡±
As a result, many Korean families have no children or only one, while Japanese families are more likely to have two or three.
According to a recent survey from Ministry of Education, Korea¡¯s total private education spending in 2023 reached a record 29.2 trillion Korean won(¡°KRW¡±), up 7.7%(2.1 trillion KRW) from the previous year, despite a decrease of 80,000 students(5,210,000¡æ5,130,000). Monthly per-student private education spending also rose 9.3% to 474,000 KRW.
Adema, who drew attention in Korea for his 2019 report on low birthrates, will deliver the opening keynote at the Edaily Strategy Forum on June 18~19. He cites high private education and housing costs, as well as a culture of long working hours, as the main drivers of Korea¡¯s low birthrate.
The OECD sees fundamental issues like Korea¡¯s dual labor market and university hierarchy as barriers to recovery. Korea¡¯s total fertility rate in 2023 was 0.75?still the lowest in the world, despite a slight rebound.
Adema emphasizes normalizing public education as the solution. He advises ¡°Improving the quality and perceived value of public education shall be required in order to reduce dependence on private education. Systems supporting parental leave and childcare must also be maintained and developed.¡±
¡ÞKorea¡¯s Low Birthrate Policy Scores 7~8 Out of 10
Adema gives Korea¡¯s low birthrate policies a score of 7~8 out of 10. ¡°People need confidence that work¡¤life balance is possible in order to have children. Korea has made progress, but its family support system is still incomplete, and spending on family benefits remains below the OECD average,¡± he says, calling for more development.
He stresses the need for trusted, continuous family policies that provide consistent support for parents of young children. ¡°Policies shouldn¡¯t change drastically every 2 or 3 years. Parental leave and child allowances must not be reduced, and young people need to believe these policies will still exist 5 or 15 years from now. Continued investment in public education can also help reduce reliance on private education.¡±
Adema also points out that government alone is not omnipotent and emphasizes the need for employer cooperation. ¡°There are limits to what government can do. Further increases in the birthrate depend on changes in workplace culture - employers and unions must make work environments more family-friendly,¡± he says.
For instance, Sejong City, with more quality jobs and lower housing prices than Seoul, has a higher average birthrate than other regions.
He adds, ¡°Korea¡¯s working hours don¡¯t need to be so long. Parental leave should be available to both permanent and temporary workers, and pay deductions for taking leave should be reformed. This is an issue for employers, unions, and workers, and also about bridging the generational gap in attitudes.¡±
Adema warns that Korea¡¯s rapid aging will pose even greater challenges. ¡°Population issues arising from low birthrates and aging will increase the burden on younger generations and fuel intergenerational conflict and gender inequality. Mutual respect between men and women, young and old, is essential for social cohesion, and measures to foster this respect are needed,¡± he says.
He predicts that demand for long-term care will continue to rise. ¡°The most important thing is to recognize this issue. It may not be urgent now, but in 30 years it will be a reality. Building a long-term care system to meet rising demand will be a key challenge for Korea¡¯s future.¡±
¡ÞAbout Willem Adema
Willem Adema leads family, gender, and housing policy analysis at the OECD Social Policy Division. He became known in Korea after his 2019 report identifying Korea¡¯s long working hours as a key driver of low birthrates. He holds degrees from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherland and a doctorate from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
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