4/3 Talk about Korea’s low birthrate.

Korea’s birthrate is among the lowest in the world. South Korean women gave birth to roughly 1.18 babies in 2013.

ex> Korea’s illiteracy rate is among the lowest in the world.

* give birth to: 출산하다

ex> She’s recently given birth to a baby boy.

This is way below the OECD average of 1.74. This low birthrate is expected to create a labor shortage and make pension funds fall short in the future.

* create a labor shortage: 노동력 부족을 초래하다

ex> Retiring baby boomers will create a labor shortage.

This will end up reducing the country’s economic productivity.

The Korean government has been taking measures to boost the birthrate since 2003.

* boost the birthrate: 출산율을 높이다

ex> The government should make more efforts to boost the birthrate.

Such policies have included providing subsidies to expectant mothers, and giving incentives to families with multiple children.

The birthrate did climb a bit to 1.30 in 2012, after hitting a record low of 1.08 in 2005.

* hit a record low: 최저치를 기록하다

ex> The Korean won hit a record low against dollar this year.

cf> Oil prices hit a record high. (최고치)

cf> Gold prices hit an all-time high. (역대 최고치)

@ That’s out of my price range.  나한테는 부담되는 가격이야.

You can pay for the phone in installments though.  할부로 구매할 수 있어.

<HOMEWORK>

1.      She gave birth to twins last month.

2.      The aging population will create a labor shortage.

3.      The Government announced a new plan aimed at boosting the birthrate.

4.      The national tax revenue hit a record low last year.

@ Related Topics>> Low Birthrate, Aging Process