Seoul births and marriages both rise

Seoul recorded 4,227 births in May, a 17.7% increase from the same month a year earlier, according to newly released government data.

The Ministry of Statistics' May population trends report showed that the number of births in Seoul has risen for 26 consecutive months since April 2024. Cumulative births from January through May this year were up 18% compared with the same period last year. Marriages — a leading indicator of births — also climbed 11.1% over the same period, the highest increase among all 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the positive trend reflects its consistent push to roll out policies that residents can feel directly, centered on its comprehensive low birth rate initiative known as the "Cheer for Birth Seoul Project." Aiming to make Seoul a city where people want to have and raise children, the city has built a support system covering the full life cycle from pregnancy and childbirth through child-rearing. Specific measures include subsidized wedding services, transportation allowances for pregnant women, a Seoul-style postpartum care expense program, a grandparent childcare allowance and Seoul-style kids cafes.

In this regard, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is holding a community dialogue event Monday morning at Seoul Gallery inside Seoul City Hall, bringing together 100 parents — including pregnant women and caregivers of infants and toddlers. The event, called "Seoul Baby Empathy Talk," is designed for participants to share candid experiences and concerns from pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing, as well as their firsthand experiences with the city's low birth rate policies.

The event was organized to mark 130,000 participants in "Eomma Book Dodum," the city's flagship reading support program for parents. The program provides "book bundles" — containing parenting books, picture books and Seoul city childcare policy guides — to expectant parents and families with infants and toddlers. It recorded an overall participant satisfaction rate of 97.8% last year.

Held under the theme "Every moment of meeting and raising a child," the empathy talk will give attendees time to share their own stories around topics such as "the most memorable moment during pregnancy and childbirth" and "a message you want to pass on to your family."

Panelists include Kim Ki-tak, director of the Fathers' Parenting Culture Research Institute and a member of Seoul's 200 Dads group, and the Kang Yeon-seon family, who served as third-generation Seoul Baby Ambassadors.

Following the talk, Choi Seong-ae, director of the HD Happiness Research Institute and author of "Emotional Coaching for My Child," is scheduled to deliver a special lecture titled "Happy Parents Over Perfect Parents."

Ma Chae-suk, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Bureau, said she believes the 26 consecutive months of rising births represent "the beginning of a change we have built together with our citizens." She added that the city will use the candid experiences and opinions shared at Monday's empathy talk to develop low birth rate policies that residents can feel more concretely, working toward making Seoul a city where people want to have and raise children.

Nationwide, 23,160 babies were born in May, up 13.6% from a year earlier — the highest year-on-year increase for any May on record. It was also the highest May birth count since May 2019, when 25,299 babies were born. Monthly births have risen for 23 consecutive months since July 2024. Analysts say the trend has been driven by a shift in young people's attitudes toward marriage and by marriage-promotion policies from the central government and local authorities.

From January through May this year, a cumulative 122,694 babies were born nationwide, up 16,166, or 15.2%, from the same period last year — the highest five-month total since 2019, when 134,433 babies were born over the same period.

[Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

cook@heraldcorp.com