5월 출생아 수 23개월 연속 증가…혼인은 석 달 만에 감소
Korea's May Births Rise for a 23rd Straight Month, but Marriages Fall Again
Part of the August 4, 2026 daily edition
국가데이터처는 지난 7월 29일 올해 5월 인구 자료를 내놓았습니다. 5월에 태어난 아기는 2만 3160명으로, 지난해 같은 달보다 2781명(13.6%) 늘었습니다. 출생아 수가 23개월 연속으로 늘고 있는 것입니다. 하지만 5월 혼인은 2만 368건으로, 지난해 같은 달보다 1392건(6.4%) 줄었습니다. 그동안 늘던 혼인이 석 달 만에 다시 줄어들게 되었습니다. 서울에서는 5월에 아기 4227명이 태어나 지난해 같은 달보다 17.7% 늘었습니다.
Translation
On July 29, the Ministry of Data and Statistics released population data for May of this year. The number of babies born in May was 23,160, up 2,781 (13.6%) from the same month last year. The point is that births have now been rising for 23 months in a row. Marriages in May, however, came to 20,368, down 1,392 (6.4%) from the same month last year. Marriages, which had been rising until then, have ended up falling again after three months. In Seoul, 4,227 babies were born in May, 17.7% more than in the same month last year.
Vocabulary
- 출생아명사 (noun)newborn baby, births (as a statistic)
- 혼인명사 (noun)marriage (the official/registered term)
- 인구명사 (noun)population
- 자료명사 (noun)data, figures, materials
- 연속명사 (noun)in a row, consecutive
- 줄어들다동사 (verb)to decrease, to go down
Grammar points
-(으)ㄴ/는 것입니다that is to say; the point is that
This turns a whole clause into a noun with 것 and then closes it with 입니다, so the sentence explains or sums up what the speaker has just laid out: 'what this amounts to is…'. Use -는 것입니다 for an ongoing action and -(으)ㄴ 것입니다 for a finished one. In the article, 늘고 있는 것입니다 takes the numbers just given and states what they mean: births have been rising month after month.
Example: 비가 많이 와서 행사가 늦어진 것입니다.
What happened is that the event was delayed because it rained so much.
-게 되다to come to; to end up ~ing
Attached to a verb stem, -게 되다 says that a situation changed and things turned out this way, usually without the subject choosing it. The past form -게 되었습니다 is the one you meet most often: 'it has come to be that…'. In the article, 줄어들게 되었습니다 marks a turn — marriages had been rising, and now they have ended up falling again.
Example: 올해부터 도서관은 일요일에도 문을 열게 되었습니다.
From this year, the library has come to open on Sundays as well.
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