JoongAng Ilbo

President Yoon Seok-yeol’s visit to the United States, marking the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance, is an opportunity to emphasize the alliance that has ensured peace and prosperity despite decades of change. The fact that over the past 70 years South Korea has transformed itself into a globally influential advanced democracy is truly astonishing.

Today, US political leaders are urging South Korea to take on the role of a “global hub” and participate in a variety of issues, including technology, national defense, and democracy. Rather than resting on the achievements of the past 70 years, they want to turn their eyes to the newly opened horizons.

But there are concerns that must be considered first. Most important is the US nuclear umbrella and South Korea’s reliance on extended deterrence to protect itself. In 2022, Pyongyang will launch a record 95 missiles and change its nuclear doctrine to lower the hurdles for using nuclear weapons. “Complete, verifiable and irreversible” denuclearization seems far away, and the possibility of realistic disarmament is no longer in sight. With Pyongyang continuing to pose shocking threats, even mentioning a preemptive strike against South Korea, it is no surprise that South Korea seeks confidence in the United States’ protection and credibility.

The “Washington Declaration” adopted by the two countries on the 26th, along with President Biden’s candid remarks, will greatly help to reaffirm the security guarantees for the alliance. The two countries established a new Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to discuss nuclear and strategic planning focused on the North Korean threat and response. It also plans to introduce a new nuclear operation exercise (TTX) for South Korea-US joint planning by helping South Korea understand its nuclear program in the event of an emergency.

A U.S. nuclear-missile submarine visited South Korea for the first time since the 1980s, according to U.S. officials, and the two leaders agreed to meet face-to-face in the event of a major North Korean nuclear attack.

In the declaration, South Korea referred to “total confidence in the US’s extended deterrence commitments,” but the newly established NCG and its process must always be supported by firm political determination. President Biden has been clearer than ever on these points. “North Korea will not tolerate a nuclear attack on the United States, its allies, or its partners, and such action would spell the end of any administration,” Biden said. Pyongyang should seem imprudent even to consider such a catastrophic attack.

No major progress has been made in another area of ​​tension in bilateral relations. The Inflation Control Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, which provide tax exemptions, subsidies and various preferential treatment to US high-tech companies, may hurt Korean companies. President Yoon clearly conveyed South Korea’s concerns, which is a reasonable question. But President Biden never publicly addressed the issue or proposed a solution.

“Korea feels its upgraded status, and should expand the G7 and join the G8.” (2)

Three junior high school students in the same class were caught by the police after administering Philopon separately obtained from the messenger application “Telegram”.

The Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul announced on the 21st that it had booked two male students in the same class as middle school student A (14) on suspicion of violating the drug control law. A administered philopon, which he bought through Telegram on the 6th of last month, and was investigated by the police after his mother reported it. The police confirmed that A administered 0.05 grams of philopon along with a male student, and filed additional charges against three people.

The police decided that the three were first-time offenders and that recovery treatment should be prioritized, so they are investigating without detaining them.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holding a cigarette in his hand and Kim Jong-un’s daughter Joo-ae holding a matchbox with both hands can be seen during the inspection and on-site guidance of the National Space Development Agency on the 18th. Caught. This was reminiscent of Kim Yo-jong’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, who acted as Kim Jong-un’s ‘ashtray clerk’ in 2019.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, reported on the 19th that Kim Jong-un and his daughter Joo-ae visited the nation’s space-development nation the day before and gave on-site guidance. On the front page of the newspaper was a photo of her mother and daughter walking side by side.

Combining photos from Korean Central Television and Rodong Sinmun, it is presumed that this is the match that was placed on the desk when Kim Jong-un received a briefing from a senior official. Korean Central Television released only a photo of the object placed in front of Kim Jong-un as he was being briefed, but Rodong Sinmun released an ashtray next to it and Kim smoking in the same scene.

This scene was reminiscent of Kim Yo-Jong Party’s “Ashtray Clerk”. Kim Jong-un smokes outside the train as he and his party rest at a train station in China as they travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, for the second U.S.-North Korea summit in February 2019. Deputy Director Kim is shown standing with an ashtray.

It is difficult to know exactly why the North Korean media released the “matchbox” scene that day, but some speculate that Joo Ae may accompany Chairman Kim. However, there is also the interpretation that it is unreasonable to see the position of Mr. Joo Ae, who is a direct descendant of Chairman Kim Jong-un and the possibility of a “successor” recently, and his sister Mr. Yo Jong in the same way.

On the other hand, the National Space Development Agency, which Chairman Kim visited the day before, is called the “North Korean version of NASA.” newly established. This year marks the 10th anniversary of its founding, and in February 2016, it led the launch of Kwangmyongsong-4, an “earth observation satellite.” Kim Jong-un has shown a particular interest in space development, as he visited on March 18 for the first time in a year following his visit last March.

Recently, countermeasures against the declining birthrate have become a hot topic. It all started when Na Kyung-won, vice chairman of the Low Birth and Aging Society Committee, talked about low-interest housing loans for newlyweds and a plan to reduce the principal in conjunction with childbirth. After mentioning Hungary’s countermeasures, Vice Chairman Luo was dismissed, and there was also controversy over the people’s candidacy for the leader of the Power Party. The issue of the declining birthrate, which is a factor that has a serious impact on the Korean economy, has failed to attract much attention so far.

South Korea’s total fertility rate in 2021 is 0.81, the lowest among OECD member countries. In Japan, the number has increased slightly from 1.26 in 2005, and has remained at the 1.3 level. What is the reason why Korea’s fertility rate has fallen more rapidly than Japan, which had the lowest fertility rate? Misae Sasano, Professor of Contemporary Sociology at Ibaraki University, graduated from Nihon University and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Seoul National University. While living in South Korea for 15 years, she compared the situation in both countries. Last year, she presented her research results at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Seoul National University, on the theme of “How are the causes of the declining birth rate in Korea and Japan different?”

While Japan’s birth rate has gradually declined, South Korea’s has plummeted. In Korea and Japan, the number of births decreased by 25% from 1980 to 2000. Both countries were at similar levels. However, between 2000 and 2020, South Korea fell by 57.2%, while Japan fell by just 29.5%. According to Professor Sasano, South Korea spent much more money on countermeasures against the declining birthrate than Japan, but it was not effective.

Professor Sasano analyzes that it has something to do with young women’s “compressive increase in educational attainment.” In South Korea, there is a large gap between the generation of parents and children in the proportion of women who have received a college degree or higher. As of 2020, 18% of South Korean women aged 55-64 have received higher education, but 77% of women aged 25-34 have received higher education. For Korean men, the difference between the parents’ generation and the children’s generation is about 30 percentage points, while for women it is close to 60 percent. My daughter’s generation has become more highly educated than anywhere else in the world.

Professor Sasano emphasized, “Only by understanding the changes in the values ​​of young Korean women can we understand things like the rapid decline in the birth rate.” Professor Sasano analyzed data from a five-year comparative survey conducted by the Japanese Cabinet Office on the values ​​of young people aged 13 to 29 in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Sweden.

◆ A survey of the values ​​of young people in seven countries…

Korean young women were very unique. In a 2018 survey, more than 90% of young South Korean women opposed the question, “Should husbands work outside the home and wives stay at home?” It is much higher than Western European countries known for gender equality. About half of young women in the U.S. and the U.K. answered yes to the question, “Mothers should take care of their children when they are young,” while young women in South Korea disagreed. was the most common.

There was also a difference among Korean women when comparing the value of marriage. South Korean women had the lowest percentage of respondents who said they should get married, but what was unique was that a relatively large number of young Korean women answered that they should not get married. Professor Sasano said, “There was a bigger change in the value of children. While there was an increase in the number of young Korean women who said, ‘Children are not always necessary,’ there was a trend among young Japanese women who wanted children. I was told. When asked about what is important in their lives, the ratio of choosing family was high in other countries, but in South Korea, the ratio of choosing work, society, and themselves over family increased significantly compared to previous surveys.

Both men and women are worried about employment due to the economic crisis

Professor Sasano cited changes in the labor market after the economic crisis as the cause. In South Korea, both men and women felt uneasy at the same time, while in Japan women felt relatively uneasy about employment. This is because Japanese economic organizations have chosen to protect male full-time employees. According to the analysis, both men and women feel insecure in the Korean labor market, and the competition between genders has deepened.

In South Korea, women’s higher educational attainment has eliminated the gap between men and women’s college enrollment rates, while in Japan, men’s college enrollment rate is still much higher than that of women’s. Professor Sasano said, “South Korea has introduced a quota system for women in parliamentary elections. There have been changes,” he said.

However, these rapid changes are conspicuous in a specific generation of women, and the diagnosis is that the older generation, society, and the workplace system have not caught up, creating friction. As this gap continues to narrow, young Korean women are likely to put off getting married and having children. Even if the budget for the declining birthrate is invested, it will be difficult to increase the birth rate unless the division of childcare between men and women and the culture of gender equality in the workplace progress.

Japanese women “want to live like their mothers” Koreans “do not want to live like their mothers” (2)