France has succeeded in raising the birthrate above two children per woman, but Korea is in danger of getting trapped in a birthrate of just 1 child. Why did France succeed while Korea struggles?

◆ Child Support

First of all, there is a marked difference in the amount of money spent on supporting childbirth and childcare. France spends 88.3 billion euros (around W150 trillion) or approximately 4.7 percent of its GDP to support its citizens in raising their children. In contrast, Korea only spends W3.2 trillion (US$1=W1,275), or just 0.35 percent of GDP by 2007 standard. France spends 47 times more money than Korea.

That means Korea can only provide minor, one-off payments, and experts say such measures have little effect. In a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs of 1,729 households with children over the past year, 81.6 percent said government policies had no effect on their decision to have kids.

◆ Different Standards

The amount of funding in Korea varies from one local government to another because each sets payment standards according to its circumstances. As a result, Seocho district in Seoul provides W1.6 million in support to a resident with three children, but Eunpyeong and Guro districts provide no support even if a resident has three children. In France, however, a central government agency called Caisse Nationale d'Allocations Familiales (CNAF) or national family allowance office handles those payments so that children can receive continuous support until they turn 20.

◆ Social Attitudes

Other differences are measures to help women able to continue to work while raising children. In France, taking a year's maternity leave is normal, and a woman is expected to exercise her right to take two additional years to raise the child. But in Korea, there are still many instances where women find it difficult to go back to work after childbirth and face invisible pressure against maternity leave.

In France, women get a year's maternity leave on full pay, but in Korea the employer pays nothing and the government only W500,000 a month. Even this measure was adopted only recently.

Unlike in Korea, where childrearing is perceived as something women should do, fathers in France are required to take two weeks off within the first four months after the birth of their child to help their spouse.