Is Asian dating culture leading to lower fertility rates? - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

A slight uptick in South Korea’s notoriously low fertility rate in the last two years has begged the question - are government policies to encourage dating, marriage and babies working? Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM It’s a question governments across Asia are asking, a region where fertility rates are at very low levels, particularly in Japan, China, Taiwan and Singapore. Governments across the region have been rolling out initiatives to encourage dating in the hope that more couples will lead to more births, which in turn will help offset rapidly ageing populations. From sponsoring dating app subscriptions to providing financial incentives and subsidised pre-schools, do these sorts of measures actually work? On this episode, host Mariko Oi is joined by journalist Rachel Lee from the Asia Specific podcast team along with Simone Heng, an author with a focus on human connection. Read more about South Korea’s increase in fertility rate here 👉🏽https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20wg50l563o 00:00 Introduction 01:47 What is a human connection specialist? 02:56 Asian governments hosting speed-dating events 04:37 Singapore's plan to launch a government-backed dating app 05:52 Do young people feel pressure to marry and have children? 07:25 South Korea's fertility rate rises for a second consecutive year 09:42 Why is population decline a societal concern? 11:16 How have traditional values contributed to the demographic crisis? 12:50 Why are fewer young Asian women choosing marriage? 13:43 Why are young people reluctant to get married? 15:20 What could governments have done differently? 16:26 Can government-led dating initiatives increase marriage and birth rates? 18:02 What policies would be most effective to encourage marriage and family formation? Watch more episodes of Asia Specific here 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4c3njIxB0KHuO8SS2mBMtUc Instagram: @bbcworldservice Email: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Mariko Oi Producers: Derek Cai, Rachel Lee, Cheyenne Lim Camera: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohd Ansary, Rosalehin Bin Rosli, Fahmi Jamal Editor: Bill Birtles ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #birthrates #southkorea #asia #dating #asiaspecific