South Korea is currently undergoing one of the most dramatic demographic transitions in world history. The transition is reflected across several social indicators, including declining fertility and marriage rates. The combination of the lowest total fertility rate in the world (0.72 in 2023) and greater longevity (Korean women are predicted to live longer than any population starting with the 2030 birth cohort) is fundamentally reshaping the age distribution of the population. The retreat from marriage and steady divorce rates have led to the rise of single-person households, which is now the modal household size in South Korea (more than 35 percent of all households). These trends are predictably driving unprecedented policy strategies such as the creation of new visa categories to facilitate immigration.
Edited by Minjeong Kim and Hyeyoung Woo, Redefining Multicultural Families in South Korea takes stock of one of the most important developments in the evolution of the...
