"American Scholar Declares 'Korea is Completely Doomed'... 'People Won't Have Children Just for Money'"

"Revolution Needed in Labor Methods"

Joan Williams, Professor Emerita at the University of California College of Law, who previously expressed surprise at South Korea's low birthrate phenomenon, has once again voiced concerns about Korea.

In a video titled "Special Interview with Joan Williams Preview" released on June 13 through the EBS YouTube channel, Professor Williams emphasized, "Giving money does not make people have children," and "We should not force people to have children." She stated, "Korean youth did not say they do not want children," but rather, "They said they cannot have children."

In a preview video released on June 7, she also said, "It is almost impossible to work ambitiously in Korea while taking responsibility for children," and added, "The past labor practices that created the Miracle on the Han River are weakening Korean society today. What is needed is a revolution in the way we work."

On the 13th, the preview video of 'Special Interview with Joan Williams' was posted on the EBS YouTube channel. [Image source=EBS YouTube capture]

Professor Williams appeared in the EBS documentary "Population Project: Ultra-Low Birthrate" last August, and upon hearing that South Korea's total fertility rate in 2022 was 0.78, she grabbed her head and said, "South Korea is completely doomed. I have never heard of such a low fertility rate," which drew significant attention. The total fertility rate refers to the number of children a woman of childbearing age is expected to have in her lifetime, and South Korea's total fertility rate this year is expected to be in the 0.6 range.

She recently diagnosed that the difficulty of balancing work and family for women in Korea is a problem. In an interview with JTBC on May 30, Professor Williams said, "(Childbirth and parenting) were difficult for both me and my daughter," but added, "We did not work in a workplace culture where extremely long working hours were the norm. It is strange that Korea still has these reasons causing low birthrates."

Furthermore, she pointed out that the situation where women have to give up their careers to raise children is a huge loss for the country. Professor Williams said, "Considering the gross domestic product (GDP) lost when Korea trains young women but then they are pushed out of the labor market after becoming mothers, it does not make economic sense," and added, "The careers of those who become non-regular workers end, and the country's economy ends as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.