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Call for Papers

 

(Re)Thinking Lowest-Low Fertility in Korea and Beyond

 

The Fifth Annual University at Buffalo (SUNY) Korean Studies Conference

September 30 - October 2, 2026

 

Background

 

South Korea currently has the lowest fertility rate in the world, with a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 0.72 in 2023, and it has been the only OECD country with a TFR below 1.0 since 2018. The profound demographic and socioeconomic implications of this decline led the Korean government to declare a “National Population Crisis” on June 19, 2024. Yet Korea is not alone. Lowest-low fertility — conventionally defined as a TFR at or below 1.3 — is now a sustained feature of many societies across East Asia, Southern and Eastern Europe, and, increasingly, parts of Latin America. Whether Korea’s trajectory represents an extreme outlier rooted in distinctive socioeconomic and cultural conditions, or a leading edge of changes to come elsewhere, remains an open and pressing question.

 

This conference will bring together scholars from diverse fields and methodological traditions to provide a comprehensive understanding of lowest-low fertility observed in South Korea and other countries within the contemporary global context and to facilitate theoretical discussions grounded in rigorous empirical research.

 

Conference Structure

 

The program will consist of two parts:

 

1. Invited Keynote and Panel

• The conference will feature a keynote address by Dr. James Raymo (Princeton University), followed by an invited panel of presentations and discussion featuring Dr. Hyunjoon Park (University of Pennsylvania), Dr. Alícia Adserà (Princeton University), Dr. Joeun Kim (Korea Development Institute), Dr. Sojung Lim (University at Buffalo, SUNY), and additional invited scholars whose work has shaped current thinking on Korean and comparative fertility dynamics.

 

1. Contributed Papers (this Call)

• A set of paper sessions will be organized from submissions received through this open call.

 

Scope of the Call

 

Invited speakers and panelists will focus primarily on Korea and East Asia. To facilitate discussions of lowest fertility from global and comparative perspectives, this call also invites papers examining lowest-low fertility in countries beyond Korea, including but not limited to:

 

• Cross-national comparative perspectives situating Korea within broader global patterns
• Other East Asian societies (e.g., Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore)
• European countries with sustained sub-replacement or lowest-low fertility (e.g., Southern, Central and Eastern European cases)
• Latin American countries that have recently entered, or are approaching, the lowest-low range

 

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Proximate and structural drivers of fertility decline to lowest-low levels, including tempo–quantum dynamics and the role of migration
• Gender inequality, work–family conflict, and labor market conditions
• Housing affordability, education costs, and economic precarity
• Marriage, cohabitation, and union formation trends
• Cultural, normative, and ideational change
• The role and (in)effectiveness of family policies, broadly defined

 

Submission Guidelines

 

Please fill out the form below and submit:

• Either a four- to six-page extended abstract or a full working paper (PDF format). 
• A short abstract of no more than 250 words.
• A brief CV (PDF format).

 

Submission deadline: July 31, 2026

Notifications of acceptance: August 5, 2026

 

 

Travel Support

 

The Asia Research Institute (ARI) at the University at Buffalo will provide up to three-nights of hotel accommodation, conference meals, and local transportation for accepted participants. In addition, ARI will provide a travel subsidy of up to $500 to participants traveling within North America and up to $800 for scholars traveling from outside North America, payable by standard procedures and regulations of the University at Buffalo and the State University of New York.

 

For academic questions, please contact Sojung Lim (Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies, University at Buffalo) at sjlim25@buffalo.edu.

 

For logistical questions, please contact Mia Arnold (Project Coordinator, Asia Research Institute, University at Buffalo) at miaarnol@buffalo.edu.