Seoul Botanic Park to remove bear family sculptures after complaints of encouraging small families
Bush and shrub sculptures depicting a family of three bears will be removed from a Seoul-based botanical garden this month, following a petition that asserts the figures work against the national policy to boost the country's fertility rate.
According to local media reports, the petitioner claimed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government that the bear family sculptures at the Seoul Botanic Park are inappropriate, considering the issue of Korea's low birth rate.
"Make the bear family sculptures comprise five bears (a father, mother and three baby bears). This would be in accordance with the national policies, and the visiting children would think it is natural to have siblings," the petitioner wrote. "I believe that these small improvements would present opportunities to change the idea of low birth (rate) deeply rooted in the current generation."
Park officials agreed with the idea behind the petition, saying that the bear sculptures should reflect the struggles to fight low fertility. It said that building additional sculptures would be difficult due to deterioration of the artificial grass surface and that it may present safety issues for children.
The park said it will remove the sculptures for now and in the future will erect new sculptures concerning pertinent social messages, including the low fertility issue.
The number of children a woman in South Korea is expected to have in her lifetime marked 0.75 in 2024, marginally improving from 0.72 the previous year, but still the lowest among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
