Why the World’s Lowest Birth Rate Prevails in Korea and Defy Billions of Public Investments: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Parenting, Child Care, and Family Life

South Korea has experienced the world’s lowest birth rate for more than two decades. In fact, South’s Korea’s population of close to 52 million is on track to halve by the end of this century. Yet spending more than $270 billion (390 trillion won) on policies including subsidized housing, paid parental leave, child care and early education programs, and family support services failed to reverse this declining trend. Thus, this paper explored the role of socioeconomic and gender inequities that have shaped cultural beliefs regarding parenting, child care, and family life in Korea, and how the sociocultural, educational, historical, and political processes have subsequently shaped the contemporary landscape of Korean early childhood policies and programs. Employing the critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper describes, interprets, and explains the ways in which discourses of parenting and child care construct, legitimize, and at times, resist inequities in parenting and early childhood development. Key explanatory frameworks emerged from data: 1) Family socioeconomic status and excessive comparison in a hyper-competitive culture; 2) Childrearing as luxury: Gender inequities in parenting and family life; and 3) Parenting as investment: The opportunity cost of childrearing. The paper concludes with implications for early childhood policies designed to strengthen families and children’s well-being.