Why thousands of junior doctors in South Korea are striking, and what it means for patients

South Korea’s Fertility Rate , Declines Again in 2023. South Korea, which already had the lowest fertility rate in the world, continues to see declines in births, NBC News reports. . This is the fourth consecutive year that fertility rates have dropped in the country. According to data from Statistics Korea, the average number of expected births during a woman's lifetime fell from 0.78 in 2022 to 0.72 in 2023. That number is extremely below the rate of 2.1 births per person needed to maintain a steady population, NBC News reports. Additionally, Korean women only earn about two-thirds of what men get paid, . which amounts to the worst gender pay gap in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The pay disparity plays a part in women waiting to have children, NBC News reports. . Women typically can’t build on their experience to climb higher at workplaces because they are often ... the only one doing the child care (and) often need to rejoin the work force after extended leaves, Jung Jae-hoon, a professor at Seoul Women’s University, via NBC News. Having a baby is on my list, but there’s windows for promotions and I don’t want to be passed over, Gwak Tae-hee, 34, a junior manager at a Korean dairy product maker, via NBC News. South Korea is slated to have elections in April, and taking action to avoid "national extinction" remains a top concern, NBC News reports. . There are people who don’t get married but we think about why married couples choose not to have babies, and my understanding is that addressing that part is going to be the focus of our policies (to boost the birth rate), Official at Statistics Korea, via briefing