According to a 2018 government survey, only 48.1 percent of people aged 13 and older think they must get married. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Koreans, both married and single, say that the biggest advantage of marriage is emotional support, where spouses can rely on each other.
The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released Sunday the results of a survey of 2,000 adult men and women aged between 19 and 49. Among those surveyed, 947 were unmarried, 1,029 married and 24 divorced.
According to a survey of unmarried people on the biggest advantage of marriage, “emotional support” was the highest at 44.5 percent. “Being able to live and stay with a loved one” ranked second with 31.4 percent.
Married couples also thought the biggest advantage of marriage was “emotional support,” and at 43.6 percent the results were similar to those reported for unmarried people.
“Being able to live and stay with a loved one” was the second highest at 19.6 percent, but the response rate was lower than in the case of unmarried people.
Married couples, on the other hand, cited “ability to have children,” which accounted for 12.8 percent and “able to form a family,” which accounted for 12.6 percent, as the main benefits of marriage at a much higher rate than unmarried people.
After checking the biggest drawbacks of marriage, 41.6 percent of unmarried people cited “reduced personal life.”
This was followed by “increasing the burden of child rearing and household labor,” accounting for 24.2 percent, “responsibilities such as attending family events and seeing other relatives,” accounting for 14.5 percent.
Furthermore, 10.2 percent cited “spending one’s income together makes it economically difficult.”
When asked about the biggest drawbacks of marriage for married couples, 37.6 percent said “reduced personal life,” just like unmarried people.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
