Are pets replacing children in Korea?

Seoul – To be honest, I’ve always had cats. I don't have any children. But cats, at least for me, were neither the cause nor the effect of my childless life. My husband and I both love cats and can't imagine life without our furry family members at home.

In fact, our lives with our non-human companions are typical of the average American family. In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 70% of U.S. households included a pet. In contrast, the proportion of households with children under 18 fell from 48 percent in 2002 to 40 percent by 2022. In South Korea, the difference is similar, but households with pets and children are not ubiquitous. In 2020, approximately 30 percent of South Korean households reported owning at least one pet, and 23 percent of South Korean households included children.

In both the United States and South Korea, the percentage of households with pets is on the rise, while the percentage of households with children is on the decline. In South Korea, elementary schools have been closed, and it is often said that sales of pet strollers have exceeded those of baby strollers. In the United States, articles are occasionally published about the risks to small universities due to declining university populations. Of course, this is happening at a much faster pace in South Korea.

If you are reading this article, you probably already know that South Korea's birth rate is currently the lowest in the world at 0.78 children. In contrast, that percentage in the US is her 1.66. The replacement level fertility rate is approximately 2.1, which roughly means that for the population to maintain its size, a woman must have an average of 2.1 children in her lifetime. When I was studying sociology and demography in graduate school in Chicago, it was hard to imagine the birth rate dropping below her 1.0 except in a dystopian science fiction movie.

However, correlation is not the same as causation. It would be a stretch to think that pets are the cause of the decline in the number of births and children in South Korea. There are countless reasons why women and men refuse to get married and have children in Korea, but I don't think keeping pets is one of them. Still, perceptions of compatibility between children and pets may differ between South Korea and the United States. In the United States, dogs and cats are part of the ideal traditional American family, which includes a heterosexual couple and their two children living in a house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. Pets and children are closely related to this image, and animals cannot replace children.

For example, South Korea has seen an increase in sales of pet strollers and dog day care, as well as an increase in the number of apartments designed for single adults and their furry companions, may suggest how owners perceive their pets. This relationship between having children and pets within a single household may be different in South Korea. Pet keeping is still relatively new in South Korea and became more common when birth rates were already declining.

I was recently rewatching the Korean drama “The Glory,” and I realized that the main male villain, Jung Jae Joong (spoiler alert!), has a daughter with the main female villain, Park Yong Jin. . He fantasizes about taking custody of his biological daughter. The audience sees workers renovating Jaejoong's apartment in preparation for Jaejoong. When Jaejoong's dog Louis XI runs into the room, the worker tells Jaejoong, “Fur can cause allergies, so people with children generally don't keep dogs.'' Jaejoong’s reaction as he stares at the dog menacingly is frightening.

We suspect this dog will meet an unfortunate fate with this inhumane owner. This scene also strips him of his only redeeming quality (his love for dogs). I later realized that this scene struck a nerve with the audience. Perhaps if his daughter had lived with Jaejoong, Jaejoong would never have gotten a dog. This is an example of children eliminating the possibility of a pet, not the other way around. In fact, I know many people with children who had their pets kicked out when their children arrived and developed allergies or asthma.

Domestic pets provide love and companionship, and individuals enjoy all sorts of physical and mental health benefits. Many of us find comfort in talking to, petting, and playing with our pet companions. Children are much more difficult to manage, but they offer completely different rewards to parents. Parents won't choose a pet over a child, but they will choose a child over a furry companion.

If the decision to bring animals into the home led to a decline in birth rates, one might consider the following thought experiment: If pet ownership were somehow made illegal in South Korea, would people suddenly have more babies? I doubt it.