Land full of blessings

Land full of blessings

 

[시사타임즈 = 이철원 시사타임즈 회장] In Korea these days, it is difficult to find young children in rural areas or small and medium-sized cities due to the continuous decline in the fertility rate. According to data analyzed by the US CIA, Korea's fertility rate ranks 220th out of 224 countries around the world, almost the last. Since there are only four countries with a lower fertility rate than Korea, Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, considering the size and population of the country, in fact, Taiwan is the only country with a lower fertility rate than Korea. While the fertility rate, which raises the proportion of the young population, is gradually decreasing, the average lifespan is gradually increasing, and the aging rate is rapidly increasing. Even now, more than 12% of the population aged 65 and over has entered the aging society, but if this continues, it is said that by 2030, the elderly population will reach 25%.

 

As a result of this decrease in the fertility rate, the working-age population is gradually decreasing and the elderly population is rapidly increasing. Due to this, the vitality of the country and industry is declining, and our military is also directly affected by the decrease in the fertility rate. In the 1980s, when military resources were plentiful due to a lack of resources for active duty service due to a decrease in the fertility rate and a shortened military service period, the percentage of active duty judges was only 51%, but now it is over 92%. Considering that all men in the Republic of Korea undergo a draft test, most of them are enlisting in active duty unless they have a visible disability that makes it impossible for them to serve in the military. In some cases, it is pointed out that the quality of military resources has deteriorated as a structural cause of incidents or assault deaths.

 

▲Elementary school children in recovery (c)SISATIMES

 

From this point of view, the Philippines is a blessed country, which is struggling because of its high fertility rate, which is the opposite of us. According to local media reports, as of July 2014, the population of the Philippines has exceeded 100 million, and among them, young people under the age of 24 account for more than 50% of the population. While we are concerned about a decrease in the productive population, the Philippines is becoming a problem because it cannot solve all of its overflowing young labor force in Korea. Leyte is overflowing with children wherever we go in rural areas. Many of the schools we restored were divided into morning and afternoon classes because it was difficult to accommodate all these students. In terms of human resources, the Philippines can be said to have unlimited potential and growth engines.

 

Every time I go to the disaster recovery site, I can often meet families with at least 5 or 6 children in one household, like my childhood, the 'baby boomer' generation after the Korean War. Especially, there are many pregnant women. About half of the young women I met in the village were pregnant. One of the reasons why the Philippines has such a high fertility rate is that marriage is fast. As Korean women reach their 30s for first marriage and their 30s for first childbirth, the age at which they can have children for the rest of their lives is getting shorter and shorter. Even this is worrying as the age of first marriage is getting delayed. On the other hand, women here usually get married between the ages of 18 and 22, graduating from high school, and have many children because the first childbirth is early. Also, due to Catholic influence, pregnancy is considered a blessing from God and contraception and abortion are sinful, so the fertility rate is high.

 

In particular, the Visayas Islands, our area of operation, traditionally produce many children. This is because they cannot take responsibility for their children's economic problems, but they think that their children are the future contributors to help the householder's income as they grow up. The last reason, I think, is that the climate has a big impact. Because there is no winter, not only humans get pregnant well here, but other animals also get pregnant very well. Wherever you go, you can see pregnant and lactating dogs, goats and pigs. When I built a farm to purify the emotions of the soldiers, I bought a pair of goats, but soon after raising them, the female gave birth to a young.

 

▲Children eating free meals provided by Arau (c)SISATIMES

 

These days, the fact that most of the children can be seen in rural areas in Korea is thanks to women who emigrated by marriage from abroad, which is helping to alleviate our problems with the low fertility rate to some extent. At a time when their children are enlisting in the military and serving in the military, I think our Republic of Korea will grow even bigger when we have the tolerance to see married immigrant women and their children as Koreans without discrimination.

 

글 : 이철원 시사타임즈 회장

 

 

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이철원 시사타임즈 회장 wangco123@timesisa.com