This reminds me of something I saw years ago, it was like a variant of Gulliver's Travels.
There was this one bit where he finds this ghost town, and after some investigation, he discovers that they were so emotionally-driven, they were dancing around enjoying the sunlight so much, they forgot to eat and drink, and they all died.
Later he finds their opposite, a bunch of scientifically-minded highly-intelligent near-emotionless beings, one of which was looking at a cucumber under a microscope. The guy asks what the scientist is doing, and the scientist looks at him like he was at least 50 IQ points below his own and had just asked the stupidest thing ever, because it was so glaringly clear--to him--what he was doing.
A little more prying led to the scientist eventually responding "Is it not obvious? I'm trying to extract the sunlight from this cucumber."
This reminds me a little of the Greek creation myth.
First, the gods created men out of gold. But they did nothing but sit around and enjoy life. So the gods destroyed them and made men out of iron. But these men did nothing but work constantly. The gods destroyed them too, and finally made men out of flesh and bones - strong enough to work sometimes, but also able to appreciate the joys of the flesh sometimes.
Korea is a performance driven society, which leaves little room for children. The wealth disparity is also pretty big, creating a dog-eat-dog world. Everyone is competing with each other in order to make sure they at least get a roof over their head and not end up dirt poor.
Then insert feminism.
For fun I also asked perplexity:
South Koreans are having fewer children due to a combination of social, economic, and cultural factors:
Economic pressures: The high cost of living, especially housing prices in cities like Seoul, and expensive education deter many young couples from having children. Many young people face financial instability and difficulty affording a stable home, making parenthood seem unattainable
.
Work culture and gender inequality: South Korea has a demanding work environment with long hours and significant gender pay gaps. Women often face a trade-off between career advancement and motherhood, as having children can mean quitting jobs or losing promotions. The country's work culture is not family-friendly, and parental leave is underutilized due to workplace expectations
.
Changing social attitudes: Younger generations, especially women, increasingly prioritize personal freedom, careers, and individualism over traditional family roles. Many reject the societal pressure to marry and have children, and there is less stigma around choosing to remain child-free. The patriarchal expectations and "perfect parent" myths add to the reluctance to have children
.
Declining marriage rates and stigma: Marriage rates have dropped significantly, and since most births occur within marriage in South Korea, fewer marriages mean fewer births. Additionally, social stigma against births outside marriage remains strong, limiting alternative family structures that might increase birth rates
.
Government policies insufficient: Despite large government spending on parental support and childcare, these measures have not reversed the trend due to deeper structural issues like labor market inequality, work culture, and housing costs. Experts call for a paradigm shift in policies to address these root causes effectively
.
The fertility rate in South Korea has fallen to a record low of 0.72 children per woman in 2023, far below the 2.1 needed for population stability, with projections indicating a halving of the population by 2100 if trends continue
.
In summary, South Korea's ultra-low birth rate results from economic hardship, demanding work culture, gender inequality, shifting social values, and ineffective policy responses, all contributing to fewer marriages and a growing number of women choosing not to have children
.
They wanted to boost the economy by introducing a feminist workforce and instead ended up hamstringing the birthrate, undermining the country in the long run. Thanks, feminism.
They’ve got such a massive issue with everything. I wonder if the hyper speed rate of industrialization that Korea, Japan and China underwent compared to the Anglosphere is a potential root cause of it all.
That’s it. That’s the whole problem. Poor people all over the world have tons of kids. 99% of our ancestors were desperately poor. Economic factors are a cop out. Feminism is the entire issue. There is no reality in which society encourages and supports women spending their entire fertility window not having children without a resultant collapse in birth rates.
Yes, exactly. If economic pressures were the cause, birth rates would have collasped during the great depression and also in poorer countries around the world.
Feminism is cancer but women will never take accountability for it.
That first one is what kills me. She spends twenty entire minutes acting like a brainrotted zoomette half her own age. Complete with desperately trying to be "hip" using modern slang. It's painful.
Koreans are so hyperfocused on enjoying nice things that they forgot to reproduce.
This reminds me of something I saw years ago, it was like a variant of Gulliver's Travels.
There was this one bit where he finds this ghost town, and after some investigation, he discovers that they were so emotionally-driven, they were dancing around enjoying the sunlight so much, they forgot to eat and drink, and they all died.
Later he finds their opposite, a bunch of scientifically-minded highly-intelligent near-emotionless beings, one of which was looking at a cucumber under a microscope. The guy asks what the scientist is doing, and the scientist looks at him like he was at least 50 IQ points below his own and had just asked the stupidest thing ever, because it was so glaringly clear--to him--what he was doing.
A little more prying led to the scientist eventually responding "Is it not obvious? I'm trying to extract the sunlight from this cucumber."
EDIT: Well, what do you know. It WAS Gulliver's Travels.
This reminds me a little of the Greek creation myth.
First, the gods created men out of gold. But they did nothing but sit around and enjoy life. So the gods destroyed them and made men out of iron. But these men did nothing but work constantly. The gods destroyed them too, and finally made men out of flesh and bones - strong enough to work sometimes, but also able to appreciate the joys of the flesh sometimes.
Oh man have I delt with a lot of the microscope guy in my life.
That passage was deeply personal to me.
Korea is a performance driven society, which leaves little room for children. The wealth disparity is also pretty big, creating a dog-eat-dog world. Everyone is competing with each other in order to make sure they at least get a roof over their head and not end up dirt poor.
Then insert feminism.
For fun I also asked perplexity:
South Koreans are having fewer children due to a combination of social, economic, and cultural factors:
Economic pressures: The high cost of living, especially housing prices in cities like Seoul, and expensive education deter many young couples from having children. Many young people face financial instability and difficulty affording a stable home, making parenthood seem unattainable
.
Work culture and gender inequality: South Korea has a demanding work environment with long hours and significant gender pay gaps. Women often face a trade-off between career advancement and motherhood, as having children can mean quitting jobs or losing promotions. The country's work culture is not family-friendly, and parental leave is underutilized due to workplace expectations
.
Changing social attitudes: Younger generations, especially women, increasingly prioritize personal freedom, careers, and individualism over traditional family roles. Many reject the societal pressure to marry and have children, and there is less stigma around choosing to remain child-free. The patriarchal expectations and "perfect parent" myths add to the reluctance to have children
.
Declining marriage rates and stigma: Marriage rates have dropped significantly, and since most births occur within marriage in South Korea, fewer marriages mean fewer births. Additionally, social stigma against births outside marriage remains strong, limiting alternative family structures that might increase birth rates
.
Government policies insufficient: Despite large government spending on parental support and childcare, these measures have not reversed the trend due to deeper structural issues like labor market inequality, work culture, and housing costs. Experts call for a paradigm shift in policies to address these root causes effectively
The fertility rate in South Korea has fallen to a record low of 0.72 children per woman in 2023, far below the 2.1 needed for population stability, with projections indicating a halving of the population by 2100 if trends continue
.
In summary, South Korea's ultra-low birth rate results from economic hardship, demanding work culture, gender inequality, shifting social values, and ineffective policy responses, all contributing to fewer marriages and a growing number of women choosing not to have children .
They wanted to boost the economy by introducing a feminist workforce and instead ended up hamstringing the birthrate, undermining the country in the long run. Thanks, feminism.
They’ve got such a massive issue with everything. I wonder if the hyper speed rate of industrialization that Korea, Japan and China underwent compared to the Anglosphere is a potential root cause of it all.
Hyper speed of westernization. It goes hand in hand with degeneracy.
North Korea really was Best Korea.
They’re highly efficient bug people, so of course they’re speedrunning the feminist collapse.
That’s it. That’s the whole problem. Poor people all over the world have tons of kids. 99% of our ancestors were desperately poor. Economic factors are a cop out. Feminism is the entire issue. There is no reality in which society encourages and supports women spending their entire fertility window not having children without a resultant collapse in birth rates.
Yes, exactly. If economic pressures were the cause, birth rates would have collasped during the great depression and also in poorer countries around the world.
Feminism is cancer but women will never take accountability for it.
"This serum understands me more than most men I've dated"
Yeah, I'm out.
That first one is what kills me. She spends twenty entire minutes acting like a brainrotted zoomette half her own age. Complete with desperately trying to be "hip" using modern slang. It's painful.