For much of the past decade, South Korea’s businesses planned for a future with fewer children. As the country recorded the world’s lowest fertility rate and shrinking school enrollments, companies scaled back investment in children’s products and shifted their focus toward older consumers.
Now, a sustained rebound in births is beginning to change those calculations.
South Korea recorded 24,521 births in April, up 18% from a year earlier and the highest April total since 2019. Births have increased for 22 consecutive months, while the country’s fertility rate rose to 0.93. Although that figure remains well below the level needed to stabilize the population, it marks a notable improvement for a country that has become synonymous with demographic decline.
The demographic shift is beginning to ripple through the consumer economy.
Companies across children’s apparel, baby skincare, parenting services and online retail are reporting stronger demand, prompting many to expand product lines and marketing efforts aimed at young families instead of preparing for a continually shrinking customer base.
LF Corp., a South Korean fashion company that owns the Hazzys brand, reported rapid growth in its Hazzys Kids business after introducing the children’s line last year. E-Land World, the South Korean apparel company behind SPAO, also reported sharp increases in sales of children’s clothing, particularly family-themed collections that allow parents and children to wear matching outfits.
Online retailers are seeing similar momentum. 29CM, a South Korean fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platform, said transactions in its children’s category more than tripled during the first four months of the year. The company said purchases were increasingly coming not only from parents but also from relatives and friends buying gifts for children, suggesting that family-related spending is broadening as confidence in the market improves.
The recovery is visible beyond traditional retail.
Danggeun Market, a South Korean neighborhood-based secondhand marketplace platform, reported higher transaction volumes for strollers, baby carriers, cribs, children’s clothing and other infant products during the first four months of the year, reflecting growing demand across both new and used goods.
Baby-care companies are also benefiting. Zero to Seven Inc., a South Korean manufacturer specializing in infant and children’s products, reported higher first-quarter sales of its Goongbe baby skincare brand, while service providers are seeing more expectant parents hire professionals to prepare and manage their homes before childbirth.
The renewed optimism is encouraging companies to invest rather than retreat.
29CM is expanding its offline children’s stores, while LF and E-Land World are broadening “family brand” strategies that extend established adult fashion labels into children’s collections. Rather than simply adding more kids’ products, retailers are increasingly positioning families as a single consumer group, developing coordinated apparel, character collaborations and shopping experiences designed for parents and children together.
For investors and consumer companies, the significance extends beyond higher sales of children’s clothing or baby products.
For years, South Korea served as a warning about the economic consequences of a collapsing birth rate, forcing companies to adapt to a steadily shrinking generation of young consumers. While the country’s fertility rate remains among the world’s lowest and demographic pressures are far from resolved, the recent increase in births is offering businesses something they have lacked for years: a reason to invest in the next generation of customers instead of planning for their continued disappearance.
