This file photo shows wedding gowns on display in a wedding fair held in Seoul on Jul. 19, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey conducted by remarriage information company ONLYU, in collaboration with marriage information company Bien-Aller, sheds light on the importance of physical appearance in maintaining relationships.
The survey focused on divorced and returning singles who want to remarry and found that men cite “maintaining affection,” while women mention “being liked by friends” as reasons why their spouse’s appearance is important to them.
Of the male respondents, 36.4 percent answered that physical appearance helps maintain affection during marriage, followed by “represents their social status” (25 percent), “shows their inner self” (17.1 percent), and “is well-liked by their friends” (13.2 percent).
Among women, 33.3 percent said their spouse’s appearance makes them feel good about themselves, followed by “makes me feel proud” (27.3 percent), “helps me stay affectionate in my marriage” (18.2 percent), and “shows my inner self” (13.2 percent).
The survey also found that “appearance” is considered an important value by single people.
A survey conducted by the same companies in October of last year found that male respondents considered physical appearance to be the top priority among spousal qualities, while women considered it the second most important.
The trend of valuing men’s physical appearance is increasing, with a representative from Bien-Aller pointing to a Japanese study to explain the shift.
According to the “16th Basic Survey of Birth Trends” released by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in Japan, 81.3 percent of Japanese women said they “value or consider a man’s appearance as a requirement for a marriage partner,” a 13.7 percentage point increase from 67.6 percent in the 1992 survey.
The main reason for this is that as women’s education and social activities increase, they tend to value men’s physical appearance, and men tend to value women’s economic power.
The survey also debunked the myth that “looks have a shelf life of one year,” with 42.1 percent of men and 37.1 percent of women surveyed who are planning to remarry disagreeing.
The trend suggests that the shelf life of appearance is getting longer and longer.
In South Korea, there is a saying that if you marry a pretty girl, you will be happy for a year, if you marry a nice girl, you will be happy for 30 years, and if you marry a woman who is good at cooking, you will be happy for a lifetime.
However, it seems that the shelf life of appearance is getting longer and longer.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
