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Research Article

Geographies of Low Fertility in South Korea: Insights from the Everyday Geographies of Infants and Young Children

저출산의 한국지리: 영유아의 일상 지리를 통해 얻는 지혜

Hyanggi Parka*
박 향기a*
aInstructor, Department of Geography, Seoul National University
a서울대학교 지리학과 강사
*phgi0520@snu.ac.kr
31 March 2026. pp. 89-103
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Abstract

This paper argues for the necessity of incorporating the perspective of the “everyday geographies of infants and young children” into scholarly research on South Korea’s low fertility. South Korea’s low fertility has attracted global attention, and existing studies have identified key characteristics such as the uneven geographies of low fertility and predominantly adult-centered perspectives. However, the culture of low fertility has rapidly become normalized in everyday life in South Korea. Furthermore, it is important to investigate the everyday geographical characteristics of infants and young children, who are the substantive actors implicated in low fertility, as such inquiry is ultimately closely linked to macro-scale low-fertility policies. Accordingly, this study proposes incorporating the perspective of the everyday geographies of infants and young children into geographical studies on low fertility in South Korea. A review of the literature on their everyday geographies indicates that two major strands of research: first, the geographies of infant and young child reveal them as separated entities from father-mother-baby assemblages in global north; and second, the previously unknown geographical realms of infant and young child reveal through frameworks of embodiment and new materialism. The everyday geographies of infants and young children reposition them—previously marginalized in geographical discussions of low fertility in South Korea—as significant actors. Moreover, this perspective facilitates the exploration of formerly unknown dimensions of the geographies of infants and young children in South Korea, which open up opportunities for new geographical interpretations and policy implications in South Korea, where the landscape of low fertility is widely pervasive.

Keywords
geographies of low fertility
geography of Korea
everyday geographies of infants and young children
father-mother-baby assemblage
embodiment
new materialism

본 논문은 한국의 저출산에 관한 지리 연구에서 “영유아의 일상 지리”라는 새로운 관점이 필요함을 제시한다. 한국의 저출산은 세계적으로 주목받는 사례로, 기존 연구에서 불균등한 저출산의 지리와 어른 중심 태도를 보인다는 특징이 도출되었다. 그러나, 최근 한국 내 저출산의 일상화가 빠르게 진행되고 있으며, 저출산의 실질적 행위자인 영유아의 일상 지리적 특성에 대한 탐구는 결국, 거시적 스케일의 저출산 정책과도 긴밀하게 연결되기 때문에 중요하다. 그리하여, 본 연구는 한국의 저출산에 대한 지리 연구에 “영유아의 일상 지리”적 관점이 더해질 필요성을 제안한다. 영유아의 일상 지리를 다룬 문헌들을 검토한 결과, 아기의 일상 지리 연구 흐름은 크게 첫째, 글로벌 노스에서 아빠-엄마-영유아 결합체로부터 분리된 영유아의 지리, 둘째, 신체화, 신유물론으로부터 밝혀지는 미지의 영유아 지리라는 두 가지 흐름으로 전개되고 있었다. 영유아의 일상 지리는 저출산의 한국지리 논의에서 주변으로 밀려났던 영유아를 중요한 행위자로 위치시키고, 미지의 세계였던 영유아의 지리를 새롭게 발굴하게 함으로써 저출산의 지형이 넓게 펼쳐진 한국에 새로운 지리적 해석과 정책적 함의를 가져올 수 있는 가능성을 열어 줄 수 있다.

키워드
저출산
한국지리
영유아의 일상 지리
아빠-엄마-영유아 결합체
신체화
신유물론
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Information
  • Publisher :The Korean Association of Professional Geographers
  • Publisher(Ko) :국토지리학회
  • Journal Title :국토지리학회지
  • Journal Title(Ko) :THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL OF KOREA
  • Volume : 60
  • No :1
  • Pages :89-103
  • Received Date : 2026-02-14
  • Revised Date : 2026-03-19
  • Accepted Date : 2026-03-24
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.22905/kaopqj.2026.60.1.7
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