The Lens: South Korea debates conscripting women amid declining birth rate

The recent suggestion by retired Korean Air Force officer Kim Hyung-chul to conscript women to counter the country’s declining birth rate has sparked a heated debate.

Enlisting women in the military does not directly tackle the root causes of the country’s low birth rate. The factors behind the low fertility rate include extreme work culture, gender inequality and financial constraints that lead many to postpone or forgo having children.

These systemic inequalities must be addressed; the issue isn’t as simple as a lack of interaction between genders.

In addition, the conscription of women would pause their careers and educational pursuits, further delaying family planning.

This break from work would also worsen economic inequalities already set by the massive gender wage gap, leading to women finding the prospects of child-rearing impossible.

Not only would conscripting women into the army be ineffective, but it could also pose significant risks to South Korean society at large.

There would be immense backlash from feminist movements and advocates who would argue that there are many dangers of integrating women at a large scale into the military.

They would mention that the military is not equipped to safeguard women against gender-based systemic abuse and sexual assault, running the risk of creating a culture of silence around harassment.

On the other hand, supporters of conscripting women argue it has the potential to alleviate shortages in the military. They claim it will ease the imbalance of military forces between South Korea and North Korea.

However, this argument is outweighed by the apparent lack of effectiveness and dangerous regressive gender-based inequalities of Kim’s proposal.

Check out last week’s news snippet

Pressure continues to grow in popular European travel destinations for a response to the negative impacts of mass tourism.

Last month, the Czech capital, Prague, announced a ban on organised nighttime pub crawls. Councillors say the city wanted to target “more cultured” tourists.

Vaclav Starek, head of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, hailed the city’s decision. “Trips to the centre in search of beer have been a problem for local people and other tourists, too,” he said.

This announcement came a day after residents in Spain’s two biggest cities marched in protest against rising property prices. Residents blame housing shortages and the increase in prices on homes being used for holiday rentals.

Spain is struggling to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens’ concerns over unaffordable rents.

According to municipal figures, Barcelona tourism accounts for roughly 13.5 per cent of Barcelona’s gross domestic product. However, tourism is the third most worrying problem for the city’s 1.6 million residents, according to a municipal survey. This mirrors a trend seen in other tourism hotspots in Europe.

Barcelona deputy mayor Jordi Valls said the city is exploring other measures to manage tourism. The number of cruise ships that can stop at the port has been reduced. Authorities are also “trying to grow and develop other activities” to diversify the economy.

Near Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Família, Jordi Gimeno’s haberdashery is one of the few traditional shops left in the neighbourhood. “These shops have been closing down because restaurants and souvenir shops have moved in,” he said at the shop his grandmother opened in 1944.

“There are businesses that tourism is not interested in.”

Staff writers

• What are the implications of crackdowns on tourism in the Czech Republic and Spain?

• What solutions could keep the tourism industry afloat while also addressing the protesters’ concerns?