Half Korea's Sky

Solutions for South Korea’s Low Female Labor Force Participation Rate

By: David K. Tian

Narrated by: Austin Tyler

The idea for this book first arose out of a graduate seminar I was in as a master's student at Georgetown University.

In this essay, I describe the reasons I believe that South Korea has such a low birth rate, and why the country is set up in a way that often actively disincentivizes women to participate in the workforce.

Since, as Mao Zedong has stated, women hold up half the sky, it would greatly behoove all people interested in the continued prosperity of South Korea to pay attention to the needs of women.

The title of this book is inspired by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn's 2009 book, Half the Sky.

In the 21st century, it is unacceptable that women still face widespread discrimination and oppression in many parts of the world. While my beloved South Korea has made tremendous progress in this regard, much work remains to be done, and I hope that this essay can help contribute to that conversation.

©2021 David K. Tian (P)2021 David K. Tian