For parents of seven, it's all about the memories together

Social Affairs

Published: 24 Jan. 2024, 17:29

For parents of seven, it's all about the memories together

Kim and Yoon pose for a picture with their seven children at their home in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Tuesday. [KIM SEONG TAE / JOONGANG PHOTO]

A family that recently welcomed its seventh child in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, received the community's blessing.

“In an era of nose-diving birthrate, Kim and Yoon are genuine patriots,” Gyeryong Mayor Lee Eung-wu said during a celebratory event hosted by the city on Tuesday.

The family also received a bundle of nutritious Korean beef and seaweed, which is helpful for postpartum mothers. The city also awarded a childbirth incentive of 3 million won ($2,239) along with baby essentials like diapers and clothes.

With the newborn son born on Jan. 16 this year, the family now has five sons and two daughters.

The proud mother, Kim, and father, Yoon, named their newborn “Yoon Sae-maeum,” hoping “their youngest can live with a kind heart and mind.” Sae means new, and maeum means mind in Korean.

Yoon said the decision to have a second child was the biggest challenge.

“My wife, who insisted on having only one child, now says that happiness comes from children,” Yoon said.

Yoon and Kim were married in December 2007.

Yoon was neither concerned nor afraid about raising a child, even before marriage. However, his wife thought differently.

“My wife grew up watching her father’s struggle to provide for three children. My father-in-law drove a taxi day and night. Her childhood experience might have made her want to have just a single child,” Yoon said.

“My wife suffered a lot while taking care of the firstborn in the first hundred days after the delivery because of the infant’s sleep pattern, staying wide awake at night and sleeping during the day. I think she unconsciously thought, ‘There will be no second child.’”

Yoon, center left in the rear row, and six of his seven children take a celebratory photo to celebrate the delivery of the family’s seventh child on Tuesday. The Gyeryong City Government hosted the event. Mayor Lee Eung-wu, center right, holds one of the children. [KIM SEONG TAE / CHOI JONG-KWON]

However, the second child was a turning point.

“Our second son had a perfect sleep cycle, making my wife feel comfortable handling him,” Yoon said. “With parenting going smoothly, we had fewer arguments than before and gained more confidence in raising kids.”

However, Yoon’s in-laws remained unbending.

Kim’s parents even declared they would not see their son-in-law, Yoon, if the couple had a second child.

It was no mere threat. Kim’s parents cut contact with Yoon for years. Yoon himself could not even visit his in-laws for a year and a half.

Friends and family tried to dissuade the couple from having more children, but Yoon and Kim stood firm in their decision to enlarge their brood.

With two sons already, they had a third and fourth son, now aged 12 and 11.

“Finally, my wife’s wish to have a daughter came true,” Yoon said. “Our fifth and sixth children were girls who turned 7 and 5 this year.”

He added, “My in-laws no longer worry about us having multiple children after seeing how happy my wife and children are in this family.”

Yoon also talked about the economic hardship the family went through during the early days of their marriage.

Yoon is a church preacher.

He had no regular income back then. The couple could not afford the church's electricity bills and monthly rent. Air conditioning and heating were luxuries.

“Although plenty of childcare benefits and perks are provided these days, support was minimal and scarce when our first child arrived,” Yoon said.

“My family survived a harsh winter in a tiny flat around 16.5 square meters (177 square feet) with a glass bottle filled with hot water.”

Yoon said financial hardship did not deter them from having more children.

Yoon's family receive gifts from Gyeryong's city government, including nutritious food and baby essentials on Tuesday. [KIM SEONG-TAE / CHOI JONG-KWON]

“Childcare subsidies, childbirth incentives and local government’s support to share the parenting burden have been a great help for the family,” he said.

These benefits have been rolling out in earnest since 2010.

“Our oldest child says his happiest times were when he picked leaves and herbs on a nearby mountain with his younger brothers and sisters,” Yoon said.

Yoon calls his children a “seven-colored rainbow.”

“Although our family is not financially well-off, the power of the family stems from watching siblings grow and make memories together.”

BY CHOI JONG-KWON [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]