(Re)Thinking Lowest-Low Fertility in Korea and Beyond

South Korea currently has the lowest fertility rate in the world, with a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 0.72 in 2023, and it has been the only OECD country with a TFR below 1.0 since 2018. The profound demographic and socioeconomic implications of this decline led the Korean government to declare a “National Population Crisis” on June 19, 2024. Yet Korea is not alone. Lowest-low fertility — conventionally defined as a TFR at or below 1.3 — is now a sustained feature of many societies across East Asia, Southern and Eastern Europe, and, increasingly, parts of Latin America. Whether Korea’s trajectory represents an extreme outlier rooted in distinctive socioeconomic and cultural conditions, or a leading edge of changes to come elsewhere, remains an open and pressing question.

This conference will bring together scholars from diverse fields and methodological traditions to provide a comprehensive understanding of lowest-low fertility observed in South Korea and other countries within the contemporary global context and to facilitate theoretical discussions grounded in rigorous empirical research.

The program will consist of two parts:

Invited Keynote and Panel 
The conference will feature a keynote address by Dr. James Raymo (Princeton University), followed by an invited panel of presentations and discussion featuring Dr. Hyunjoon Park (University of Pennsylvania), Dr. Alícia Adserà (Princeton University), Dr. Joeun Kim (Korea Development Institute), Dr. Sojung Lim (University at Buffalo, SUNY), and additional invited scholars whose work has shaped current thinking on Korean and comparative fertility dynamics.

Contributed Papers (this Call)
A set of paper sessions will be organized from submissions received through this open call.

Invited speakers and panelists will focus primarily on Korea and East Asia. To facilitate discussions of lowest fertility from global and comparative perspectives, this call also invites papers examining lowest-low fertility in countries beyond Korea.

Read the full call for papers and submission guidelines at the link below.