A cross-generational "fix" for rural population loss in Korea

The New York Times last week published this heart-warming story out of rural South Korea.   The headline is "Running out of Children, South Korea School Enrolls Illiterate Grandmothers," and the dateline is Gangjin County, population 49,254.  The nation's birth rate is one of the lowest in the world, having fallen dramatically in recent decades; it is now less than one child per woman.  As in most of the places suffering population loss, the areas hit worst are rural

where babies have become an increasingly rare sight as young couples migrate en masse to big cities for better paying jobs. 

Like other rural schools, Daegu Elementary...has seen its students dwindle. When Ms. Hwang’s [the 70-year-old who is the story's central character] youngest son, Chae Kyong-deok, 42, attended it in the 1980s, it had 90 students in each grade. Now, the school has only 22 students in total, including one student each in its fourth- and fifth-grade classes.

One of the things that I love about this story and what is happening in this rural area is the way it is bringing or keeping generations together.  Ms. Hwang rides the school bus with her three grandchildren.  Also striking is the fact that these elderly women are in need of literacy.  Journalist Choe Sang-Hun explains:

Decades ago, Korean families often focused what little resources they had on educating their sons. Many girls were expected to stay home and look after younger siblings while their parents worked outside.