ABSTRACT
The national family planning program is regarded as having been very successful in reducing fertility in the Republic of Korea. This chapter describes the changing patterns of contraceptive use in Korea and methods offered by the government’s family planning program over the period of 1960–1985. It examines covariates of contraceptive method choice, using data from the Korean Contraceptive Prevalence Survey of 1979. By reviewing the national family planning program and trends in the use of specific contraceptive methods, and by analyzing recent survey data, the chapter sheds light on how various factors have affected individual couples’ contraceptive behavior in Korea. The review of historical data and the analysis of the 1979 survey data show that both the adoption of contraception and the choice of method were affected by the degree and type of access Korean couples had to contraceptive methods. Access affected the use of nonsupply methods such as rhythm and withdrawal as well.
