39 Works on Family and Care Arrive in Jeju, Reframing Low Birth Rates as Part of Everyday Life

[Financial News Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok] An exhibition showing low birth rates and population decline not as statistics or policy figures, but as scenes of family life, care, and everyday living, is underway in Jeju.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Jeju Branch of the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association on the 30th, the traveling exhibition of award-winning works from the 3rd Korea Population Festival (2026) has been on display since the 26th on the first floor of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office Annex. The exhibition continues through Sept. 4 and is open to the public free of charge.
The Korea Population Festival was created to mark Population Day and to encourage citizens to express and share population-related issues they experience in daily life through their own content. This year marks its third edition. The Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association announced the winners in June and held the awards ceremony in July.
This year’s contest covered three categories: 'A Healthy Start, Connected Care,' 'Work-Life Balance, Family-Friendly Workplaces,' and 'Diverse Families, Everyday Respect.' After judging, 39 works were selected as winners, including 24 photos and 15 short-form videos.
The works depict families preparing for pregnancy and childbirth, time spent between parents and children, neighbors sharing caregiving, people balancing work and home, and the daily lives of families in different forms.
A defining feature of the exhibition is that it turns issues often grouped under terms such as 'low birth rate' or 'population decline' in policy reports into real-life scenes.
In particular, it broadens the perspective beyond simply raising the birth rate to include creating an environment where children can be born and raised, caregiving among family members, workplace culture and work-life balance, and respect for diverse families.
This approach has also become increasingly important in population policies pursued by the central government and local governments. Jeju Province is also treating population issues this year, through Population Day events, population education, and contests, not as an administrative task alone but as a daily-life issue that families and local communities must address together.
The traveling exhibition makes use of the government building so that residents and public officials visiting the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office can see the works without having to go to a separate venue. By viewing the photos and short-form video winners in the exhibition space, visitors are naturally encouraged to reflect on the idea that child-rearing, caregiving, and family-friendly workplaces are social issues that cannot be solved by individual choice alone.
This year’s festival message, 'Raising Children Together, Building the Future Together,' also reflects that direction. The Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association runs the Korea Population Festival as a public-participation project to improve awareness of population issues.
Lee Jae-ho, head of the Jeju Branch of the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association, said, "This is a place to share with Jeju residents the public’s works that capture the value of family and care," adding, "I hope it becomes an opportunity to think about population issues together."


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