Only half of Koreans think marriage is a must

Getting hitched is getting increasingly unpopular in Korea, with only 50 percent of those surveyed saying marriage is a must.

According to a report released by Statistics Korea, 43.2 percent of people surveyed said that marriage is unnecessary.

The 50 percent figure for those in favor of marriage is 1.2 percentage points lower than in the previous survey, conducted two years ago.

The survey of 36,000 Koreans 13 and older was conducted in May and is done every two years.

Of those surveyed, 3.6 percent said people shouldn't get married at all, and 3.2 percent were sure.

By gender, 55.8 percent of men respondents and 44.3 percent of women respondents said marriage is a must.

The major reason for not getting married was financial matters. Around three out of ten people said they do not have enough saved for marriage. Unstable employment status followed.

For women, seeing marriage as unnecessary was the second biggest reason, while for men, it was unstable employment.

The proportion of people thinking they can raise kids without getting married this year reached 34.7 percent, which has been steadily increasing since 2012.

Over 60 percent said men and women can live together without getting legally married.

In terms of family relationships, 64.5 percent said they are satisfied with their relationship. The percentage was up 5.7 percentage points compared to two years ago. In particular, satisfaction with their children was 78.6 percent, a high.

Fewer people said that society felt safer compared to five years earlier, dropping by 6.5 percentage points to 32.3 percent. Those who anticipated society will become safer in the coming five years fell 6.5 percentage points to 32.6 percent.

Thirty-three-point-three percent of the respondents said they feel the current society is safe.

In the survey conducted in 2020, a new disease was the biggest concerning factor due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which still remained the most concerning factor despite fewer saying it was the major reason for believing the society is unsafe.

“The survey normally reflects the societal situation at the time of the survey,” said a spokesperson for Statistics Korea.

“In May, when the survey was conducted for this year, the Covid-19 situation had improved and people’s anxiety over new diseases had subsided.”

BY IM SOUNG-BIN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]