Peace Without Poison

South Korea started covert methods of population control at the same time as North Korea, in1956, undoubtedly coordinated by the international community to relieve tensions on the KoreanPeninsula and avert war.Even though it started from a much higher total fertility rate of 6.3 children per woman (asopposed to North Korea’s 5 children per woman) it reached replacement level fertility in 1983,sixteen years earlier than North Korea. Unlike North Korea, which pursued the medium variantof population control, thus a more moderate policy, South Korea pursued the low variant, thus afar more aggressive program, which is why South Korea’s total fertility rate did not stay atreplacement level, as North Korea’s did, but continued to sink and reached a lowest low of 1.2children per woman in 2002 and continues to be at sub-replacement level fertility to this day.The man responsible for approving covert methods of depopulation in South Korea, undoubtedlyunder duress by the UN and the greater international community, is Syngman Rhee (1948-1960),the first President of the Republic of Korea. His successors have followed suit: Yun Posun414 | P a g e