Analysis-Korea's birth rate drive struggles to sway 'YOLO' generation


People shop at a flea market hosted by Bunjang, an e-commerce platform for secondhand sales, in Seoul, South Korea, August 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jihoon Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - As South Korea scrambles to halt the sharp decline in its birth rate, policymakers are having a hard time convincing many in their 20s and 30s that parenthood is a better investment than stylish clothes or fancy restaurants.

Asia's fourth-largest economy plans to launch a new government ministry dedicated to demographic challenges after years of incentives failed to ease the baby crisis.

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