In recent years, South Korea has been grappling with a concerning trend: a significant decline in the number of newly enrolled students. This is mainly due to the alarmingly low birth rates in the country.

The number of annual births in South Korea has witnessed a stark and unprecedented decline over the years, falling to less than 250,000 for the first time in recorded history. This alarming trend reflects a staggering 50% decrease compared to the figures from a decade ago. The total birth rate for the year 2022 paints a bleak picture, barely reaching 0.8 and stagnating at a concerning 0.78. This is the lowest birth rate in the world.

This steady downward trajectory in birth rates has persisted for seven consecutive years since 2015, with only a brief exception in 2015. The data from the past decade paints a grim picture, revealing a consistent decline in birth rates every year except for that anomalous year. 

The low birth rates have also affected the number of students enrolling in school every year. According to 'the Ministry of Public Administration and Security Resident Registration Demographics,' there is an evident decrease in the number of students enrolled each year.

Netizens commented, "I guess with the lack of people, people will truly know how to cherish and value others," "This is bad because children are the future of a country," "This is because of the societal views on moms: moms with kids get criticized, company women who take maternity leave get omitted from any promotions, and housewives are treated like leeches. Who would want to get married and have kids?" "They were creating 'No-kids zones' for a while, now the whole country's about to become a 'no kids zone'," "Well the president doesn't have kids either," "There's not much support to have kids," and "'Who would want to have kids in a world like this' is what I'm thinking."