Growing Interest in Extramarital Births as Celebrities Embrace Non-Traditional Family Structures

The recent announcement that actor Jung Woo-sung (정우성), 51, and model Moon Ga-bi (문가비), 35, welcomed a son in March without being married has sparked increased interest in extramarital births in South Korea.

According to the '2023 Birth Statistics' released by the Statistics Korea in August, the number of births outside of marriage exceeded 10,000 for the first time, reaching 10,900. This figure marks the highest since the agency began tracking such statistics in 1981, accounting for 4.7% of the total 230,000 births last year. This means that one in every 20 babies born in 2023 was an extramarital child.

The number of extramarital births has been on the rise for three consecutive years. After a decline from 9,300 in 2013 to 6,900 in 2020, the figures rebounded to 7,700 in 2021 and 9,800 in 2022.

However, this rate remains low compared to the average extramarital birth rate of 41.5% among OECD member countries. Statistics Korea noted that the low rates in South Korea and Japan are largely due to conservative societal values. They suggested that a more inclusive attitude towards diverse family structures could help improve the country's birth rate.

The proportion of extramarital births has seen significant growth, rising from 2.2% in 2018 to 4% last year, marking a notable shift in societal norms. This trend reflects changing attitudes towards marriage, with many couples choosing to cohabit or maintain a relationship without formal marriage, often due to financial considerations such as housing.

There is a growing interpretation that traditional family structures are becoming less defined. Instances of celebrities like Kim Yong-gun (김용건) and Jung Woo-sung (정우성) taking responsibility for child-rearing without marriage, or public figures like Sayuri (사유리) opting for voluntary single motherhood through sperm banks, are becoming more common in the entertainment industry.

Furthermore, a recent survey by Statistics Korea revealed that 67.4% of respondents believe that couples can live together without being married, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from two years ago. Additionally, 37.2% of participants think it is possible to have children without marriage, up by 2.5 percentage points from the previous survey.

In contrast, the total number of births last year was about half of the 437,000 recorded a decade ago in 2013. The total fertility rate fell to 0.72, the lowest since the start of birth statistics in 1970. A total fertility rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain the current population level, indicating a significant demographic challenge ahead.