Families with 3 kids or more show steady rise

Lee Su-jin, a 30-year-old housewife, gave birth to her third child in January last year. She said it fulfilled the plan she and her husband made after they got married.

“I thought it would be great to have three kids. Having two seemed somewhat insufficient to me,” said Lee, who married a pastor in 2006.

She said government subsidies aimed at boosting the sagging birthrate are not the main reason behind her decision, but admitted that they are helpful for the household economy.

“I have been given 200,000 won ($180) every month from the district office since having the third baby. Getting free childcare services also reduces the burden of raising children.”

Lee is not alone in having a third child.

The number of families who had at least a third increased 3.3 percent last year, Statistics Korea said Monday.

This is good news for a country that has been worried about its low birthrate and aging society.

According to the statistics agency, the number of families with three or more children marked 51,600 in 2011, up 1,700 from the previous year. It is the first time in 10 years that the figure has surpassed the 50,000 mark since 2001 when it reached 55,599.

Families with three or more children marked 10.95 percent last year, hitting the highest level in 27 years.

The number was over 20 percent until the early 1980s but it decreased during the 1980s and 1990s and even dropped to 6.9 percent in 1991.

But, the numbers have turned around recently as the government has looked to boost the birthrate with subsidies and other benefits. It topped 10 percent in 2010, and increased again last year.

A survey shows that the trend will continue. According to the government statistics agency, about 55,000 married women said in 2010 that they will have more than three children, nearly two times the 28,000 in 2005. In contrast, the number of women who planned on not having any children decreased 40 percent to 272,000 over the same period. <Korea Times/Kim Jae-won>

news@theasian.asia