Chung Jeeyea overheard a colleague sobbing in a bathroom, unable to find someone on the phone to pick up her sick child from school. It was a moment she, too, would experience as a mom and one that led her to quit her job and start a service to help parents faced with the same quandary.
(Bloomberg) — Chung Jeeyea overheard a colleague sobbing in a bathroom, unable to find someone on the phone to pick up her sick child from school. It was a moment she, too, would experience as a mom and one that led her to quit her job and start a service to help parents faced with the same quandary.
Six years later Momsitter, an online platform that matches families with potential babysitters, has gained more than 1 million users. Chung tapped into South Koreans’ tech savvy to respond to a culture that frowns upon working mothers.
“The culture of guilt is still with us,” Chung said. “We’re so used to raising children just by moms.”
Momsitter provides the tools to allow women to challenge the idea they can’t have both children and a career, she said.
Such social pressures contribute to one of the gravest long-term threats to South Korea’s economy: a declining population. The country has the world’s lowest fertility rate.
Part of the problem is that Korea’s rapid economic development and urbanization atomized families, cutting off support networks of relatives. The nation ranks at the bottom for social capital in the developed world, meaning the level of trust among people is exceptionally low. That has a direct impact on economic prosperity, according to the London-based Legatum Institute.
“It takes an enormous amount of trust to leave your child with someone, but the supply of such people is limited,” said Bae Yun-jin, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education. “Accessibility of support facilities for mothers also varies for each region.”
While Korea has kindergartens, nurseries and public babysitter programs, Momsitter aims to fill the remaining gaps, particularly for higher-income families.
Women’s difficulty finding support limits Korea’s economic potential and is reflected in the nation’s struggle to bring its female labor-market participation rate above 60%. Korea and Italy were the only OECD members in 2021 that had per capita GDP above $40,000 and a participation rate below 60%.
As women feel torn between children and a career, Korea continues to struggle with a low birthrate. A typical Korean woman is expected to have an average of 0.81 children over her lifetime, according to the latest data from 2021. The number of newborns is just 0.5% of the population.
The declining birthrate threatens to erode prosperity as a shrinking workforce is forced to support a swelling aged population. With fewer babies born and workers to support the economy, growth is also poised to slow.
Alarmed by the faster-than-expected rate of population aging, the government is increasing its efforts to encourage people to have more children. President Yoon Suk Yeol has tripled payments for mothers of newborns.
But the problem is deeper than financial support.
Economists say gender inequality is central to the fertility crisis. On top of the struggle to hold down a job, Korea has the biggest wage gap between men and women in the developed world. Mothers are considerably less likely to be hired than childless women, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The government launched its own babysitter service in 2007. Some 27,000 sitters helped 78,000 families last year, with the focus of support on lower-income parents, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
Demand continues to outstrip supply, especially among higher-income parents, often forcing them onto waiting lists. That’s where Momsitter comes in — while also helping to boost the supply of babysitters.
Apps similar to Momsitter are also catching on, including Tictocrroc and Jaranda. They specialize in providing tutors for specific subjects for children and playmates for young ones.
Chung said her start-up looks to services like care.com in the US for pointers. She says local investors such as the Korea Development Bank and Daol Investment have so far embraced her vision, extending funding of 13.3 billion won ($10.5 million).
But there are also lingering concerns about safety and vetting of sitters. Cases of abuse and harm to children are occasionally reported internationally, often because of the difficulties of checking candidates thoroughly.
Momsitter administers aptitude tests for babysitters and provides information including health reports, reviews by other parents and any certificates they may have. It bans “troublemaking” babysitters and parents from the service for five years, Chung said.
“Information builds trust and our role is to help mothers make informed decisions,” she said. “We need to break the cycle of mothers having no choice but to be with their children around the clock regardless of whether they want it or not.”
“We need to keep mothers happy.”
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