Why do developed nations have low birth rates?

[SGF]

I was looking at South Korea's demographics this morning and it's fertility rate is 1.11 with a median age of 43.7. Back in 1955 the fertility rate was 5.65 and median age was 18.9. So what happened here and why do people in developed nations have so few kis?

Currently the idea is that its because of financial instability and people w8ting too long to become "financially secure" but that has to be wrong as less developed poor nations with far worse conditions have substantially higher birth rates and contraceptives are easily affordable even there. I see this even here, the poorer population in Romania has LOT of kids. Families I've seen with 3 to 12 kids and they are dirt poor with only the father working. This seems to be the same across the planet with places like Africa and India experiencing population explosions.

demographic pyramid reversal also means social systems like universal health care, free education and so on are going to become unfeasible as there aren't enough young working people to pay into the system while there are too many old people relying on these services (see Japan). This leads to a need for immigration which creates social and political instability as society breaks up into competing ethnic blocks (see USA, Yugoslavia, USSR, Austro-Hungary, Catalonia and so on).

This got me thinking that lower birth rates have something to do with being better off, financially more secure, better educated and so on. What do you guys think? Do we just have too high standards and have gotten too comfortable for our own good?

when I was 24 and fresh out of uni, I wanted to marry my gf at the time.. and I remember clearly neither of us were "financially secure", but the reason I didn't in the end was because she'd freak out every time she'd have to go to the doctor even for mundane things, she didn't want to have kids and one day she said kids are parasites. I had this very "cold" premonition as to what life would be like with her and instantly got cold feet, was sweating bullets every time we were together. From that moment onward it took only 2 weeks to end a promising 4 year relationship. She is 35 now (I'm 34), several failed relationships later she is living alone in a small apartment working 12 h a day including Saturdays. Similar situation with me, never found anyone after that either although I'm financially and time-wise better off.. right now buying a roadster to mod for fun :\.. but still childless and alone. How did everything go so wrong? WTF