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No kids zones - 2nd August 2023

South Korea has the world's lowest birth rate. The government’s offering money to support families with babies. But the birth rate is still decreasing.

Yong Hye-in had a baby while working for the government. She says the government wants more people but they don’t want babies in public places.

Yong Hye-in: "(The male-dominated government) wants to boost birth rates and are scared the low birth rate will lead to a disappearing South Korea. But they also prefer it if the noisy, difficult and painful process of raising a child be done separately, somewhere out of sight, on a remote island."

In Seoul, 'No Kids Zones' are becoming common. The idea that children should stay hidden and quiet is creating this problem. Yong Hye-in couldn't visit her favourite places with her new born baby, which made her sad. This is worrying because it’s unfair to families.

Yong Hye-in: "I had now become this person who could be so easily rejected — at places like restaurants, cafes, bars and movie theatres. I felt like I had been expelled from society. I remember crying so much on my way home."

In Seoul, more and more 'No Kids Zones' have appeared. There are various reasons for this, from children being noisy to their parents being irresponsible. Yong Hye-in, who works at the National Assembly, has this problem too. Her workplace doesn’t give her time off as a new mother. She leads the Basic Income Party. She believes in creating equal opportunities, giving equal pay to men and women and changing social attitudes towards parenting. She thinks this is the key to stopping South Korea's low birth rate.