A residential unit at a public rental home complex in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of single-person households in Seoul are satisfied with living alone, but struggle with difficulties arising in emergencies, a survey showed Tuesday.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a survey of 3,079 people living alone, of which 86.2 percent were satisfied with solitary life, up by 13 percentage points from 2017 (73.2 percent).
Among the respondents, 36.8 percent intended to live alone in the future, while 23.6 percent said they would carry on a solitary life permanently.
The average monthly income of single-person households was 2.19 million won (US$1,719), up 120,000 won since 2017.
They made 860,000 won less than multiple-person households (3.05 million won per month) and 69.3 percent of them earned less than 100 percent of the median income.
Living expenses, in the meantime, rose by 430,000 won, up by 2.7 times, lowering net income.
Single-person households were more fearful of criminal acts than multiple-person households and 1.5 percent of them had been exposed to crimes related to violence, which was three times higher than the national average (0.57 percent).
Another 31.5 percent of single-person households were struggling from chronic diseases, which was 2.7 times higher than multiple-person households (11.8 percent).
In addition, more than half of single-person households were struggling with home chores, including cooking (55.1 percent) and cleaning/laundering (52.7 percent).
Asked about quality time, many single-person households wished to travel, exercise or engage in art and cultural activities, but 47.6 percent made do with watching videos.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
