New OECD study Doing Better for Families Korea country summary available on the OECD website.

“At 1.15 children per woman, Korea’s total fertility rate in 2009 was the lowest in the OECD. The decline in the fertility rate is mainly explained by married women having fewer children – families with three or more children have become rare in Korea – and a rise in the number of single women. Korean women who are more educated, have jobs, and live in cities are likely to put off marriage…

With female educational attainment levels now surpassing those of men, and with projected declines in the labour force, Korea’s economy needs to make a more efficient use of its investment in human capital to keep its economic engine going. Korea’s fathers should do more work at home to facilitate more women to be in work.

At the same time, there should be a greater role for flexible working-time arrangements, part-time employment opportunities, and performance-related pay within regular employment profiles to facilitate Koreans to better reconcile work and family life.”

Web reference: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/27/47701041.pdf