A family walks with stroller in downtown Seoul, South Korea, 25 February 2026. According to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of births in South Korea in December 2025 reached 20,003, an increase of 1,747, or 9.6 percent, compared to the same month a year earlier. Photo by JEON HEON-KYUN / EPA
June 4 (Asia Today) -- Amid what many churches describe as a crisis of family breakdown and population decline, a South Korean Christian marriage consultant is drawing attention for a ministry aimed at helping young believers build families of faith.
Jo Byeong-chan, 68, CEO of Grace Marriage Consulting and an elder at Yoido Full Gospel Church, said churches and policymakers often speak about low birthrates while overlooking what he sees as the more basic problem: fewer young people are getting married.
"For a child to be born, marriage must come first," Jo said in an interview with Asia Today on Tuesday. "If young people do not marry, encouraging childbirth has no meaning."
Jo recently published "Marriage, Change the Paradigm," a book that calls on South Korean churches to focus less on discussing childbirth subsidies and more on helping young Christians prepare for marriage.
