Report: Fewer Koreans Have a Positive View of Marriage
01:28
Jul 15, 2024 7:02 AM
01:28
Jul 15, 2024 7:02 AM
Description
Young people in South Korea are turning their backs on marriage, according to a government report.
A survey by Statistics Korea of Koreans aged between 19 and 34 found that just 36% have a positive opinion of marriage.
That's down from 56% in 2012.
The report found that many young Koreans feel they do not have enough money for marriage at a time when the cost of living is high.
Others said they don't think that marriage is necessary.
The report also found that only 28% of the women surveyed have a positive opinion of marriage.
This may be because women are choosing to put their jobs first — before marrying and starting a family.
Earlier in the year, Statistics Korea said that the number of marriages in the country in 2022 was the lowest ever recorded.
There were 192,000 marriages in 2022. The number of marriages recorded has now decreased in each of the last 11 years.
The government is worried, and has spent years trying to encourage young people to marry and have children, since the country's birth rate is also falling.
But more Koreans are happy to stay single. There is even a word for people who choose not to marry: bihon.
And instead of encouraging Koreans to marry, some people are asking the government to do more for single people who have chosen to live on their own.