Government-arranged matchmaking, creating more jobs for youths and making housing more affordable for newlyweds are among the latest in a list of initiatives aimed at boosting the country’s very low birthrate unveiled Sunday.

The goal of the third five-year plan to address low birthrate and an aging society to be implemented next year appears to be to get people to marry earlier so that they will have more children. Indeed, statistics show that women who marry at age 25 or under will have 2.03 children while those who marry at age 36 or over will have 0.84 children.

Viewing uncertainty about the future as one of the largest obstacles in tying the knot, the government is bent on creating more jobs for the young. Giving companies a tax break of 5 million won ($4,430) for each new young employee hired and creating 40,000 public sector jobs for young people are some of the ways the government plans to boost youth employment.

To ease the difficulty in finding affordable housing, another significant reason for delaying marriage, the government said it will give newlyweds as well as those planning to get married greater chances of getting into public rental housing units.

Many of the measures unveiled Sunday are familiar: They are repackaging or slight modifications of programs. These include reducing the medical costs related to pregnancy and birth, improving child care services, encouraging family-friendly practices at the workplace and giving fathers longer child care leaves. Women will be encouraged to remain in the workforce after childbirth by giving employers incentives to offer flexible working conditions.  

Since the rising cost of education is frequently cited as a reason for not having any or more children, the government’s long list includes bringing down the cost of education by making private cram schools and tutoring unnecessary.

The first five-year plan addressing low birthrate and an aging society was implemented in 2006. Although the government has spent 123 trillion won toward the effort, people are not having more children. The birth rate still remains very low at 1.23 per woman of childbearing age — hardly changed from 2006 — and if this trend continues, 15 percent of the population will be 65 or older by 2018.

A more fundamental shift in people’s thinking is necessary to boost the birthrate. Instead of viewing child-rearing as a costly and troublesome venture, young people should be encouraged to think of raising children as natural and highly rewarding. This change in perspective cannot happen in five or 10 years. Rather than drum up a “new” plan of repackaged existing programs every five years, the government should draw up a long-term plan that will change the culture of our society from one that is averse to having children to one that regards child-rearing as a natural part of life.