ID :
156517
Mon, 01/10/2011 - 08:39
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/156517
The shortlink copeid
Economic burdens prompting Koreans to delay marriage
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- Han Jun-seok, a 32-year-old office worker, feels laden
with worry when his girlfriend asks him when he's going to pop the question.
Han finally landed a job at a pharmaceutical company late last year after failing
for years in his pursuit of becoming an accountant, but he's hesitant to tie the
knot. Although he's reached what many see as the right age to get married, he
feels that economic burdens still stand in the way.
"My girlfriend waited for me for a few years until I got a job. But now she is
pressing me to pop the question as early as possible. But I'm not ready to get
married because I don't have enough money," he said.
Han is among the growing number of South Koreans who are either delaying marriage
or reluctant to tie the knot because they believe that they are not financially
prepared for such a major life event.
Add to that social changes in which more women receive higher education and enter
the workforce -- thus focusing more on their careers than marriage -- and the
result is that more South Koreans are putting off their nuptials, raising the
average age for tying the knot.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, among 492
single Korean men aged 30 to 35, a shortage of earned income topped the list of
reasons to delay marriage with 14.3 percent, followed by anxiety of job security
with 13.9 percent.
For 271 single women under the same age group, missing the "appropriate" time for
marriage ranked first with 17.6 percent, while employment conditions accounted
for a mere 4.4 percent.
"For single men, being either unemployed or lacking stable income sources seemed
to serve as important factors for postponing marriage," said Sohn Joo-young,
deputy director for the ministry's division of population policy.
In 2009, a total of 76 percent of about 1,740 single men were found to have an
inclination to get married, down from 83 percent in 2005, according to the
survey.
Out of about 1,580 unmarried women, a total of 73.1 percent said they want to
walk down the aisle, slightly down from 73.8 percent, it added.
"In general, men have more of an inclination or feel more of a need to get
married than women. But the survey shows men's willingness to wed declined more
sharply than women between the cited period, mainly due to insecure employment
conditions," Sohn said.
Since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis took away the long-cherished notion of
lifetime employment in South Korea, the job market situation has grown bleak with
the portion of temporary or part-time workers increasing.
The local economy recovered swiftly from the recent global financial turmoil, but
people have yet to feel the full impact of the recovery as the jobless rate was
presumed to reach 3.8 percent last year. The unemployment rate among people aged
between 15 and 29 has hovered above 6 percent.
"As more young people regard marriage as a matter of choice, they are holding off
on getting married," said Lee Sam-sik, head of the low fertility and aging
society research division at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
"Changes in traditional values about marriage, instability in job market
conditions and rising wedding costs are putting pressure on them to delay
marriage."
In land-starved South Korea, skyrocketing home prices are mainly to blame for a
pile of economic burdens for couples looking to tie the knot.
Lim Jung-mee (alias), a 31-year-old female office worker, never hesitates to say
that the costs associated with finding housing were among the biggest reasons she
could not help but hold off on her nuptials.
"I wanted to get married three years ago, but you can't just get married because
you're in love -- it takes a considerable amount of money," said Lim, who got
married in December to her husband of the same age after a 10-year relationship.
"My husband's parents could not help us financially in securing a home, so we
needed more time to save up money."
Lim and her husband managed to find a leased two-room house spanning 15 pyeong in
the eastern part of Seoul. One pyeong equals 3.3 square meters.
According to Sunoo, one of the country's largest matchmaking firms, the average
newly married couple spent 172.5 million won (US$154,017) in preparation for
their wedding in 2009, more than double the average of 82.8 million won in 2000.
In 2009, newlyweds needed an average of 127 million won to secure housing,
sharply up from 46.3 million won seen in 2000, indicating that finding a home is
one of the main economic burdens for Koreans in a society where men usually
provide a home upon marriage.
In South Korea, owning a home has long been regarded as the main way to augment
one's assets. But as higher real estate prices make it difficult for the large
numbers of would-be newlyweds to buy a home, most of them turn to leasing by
paying key money in a lump sum, called "jeonse," under a two-year contract.
Job market jitters have also led to a reduced number of marriages and raised the
average age for tying the knot, which is feared to aggravate the problem of South
Korea's low birthrate, experts say.
According to a report by the Bank of Korea (BOK), if temporary jobs increase by 1
percentage point, the number of marriages will fall by 330 and the jobless rate
will rise by the same margin, with the cases of marriage declining by between 835
and 1,040.
If other variables were stay intact, and housing prices and jeonse prices rise by
1 percentage point, the number of marriages would fall by 78 and 100,
respectively.
"To tackle the low birthrate and the problems of an aging society, efforts are
needed to cut child-rearing expenses and increase childcare facilities. But
fundamental solutions (to these problems) would be to bolster job security and
reduce the jobless rate," said Yi Sang-ho, a senior economist at the Institute
for Monetary and Economic Research under the BOK.
"To help reduce economic burdens of young people preparing for marriage, it is
important that (the government) stabilize home prices, in particular, jeonse
prices."
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
with worry when his girlfriend asks him when he's going to pop the question.
Han finally landed a job at a pharmaceutical company late last year after failing
for years in his pursuit of becoming an accountant, but he's hesitant to tie the
knot. Although he's reached what many see as the right age to get married, he
feels that economic burdens still stand in the way.
"My girlfriend waited for me for a few years until I got a job. But now she is
pressing me to pop the question as early as possible. But I'm not ready to get
married because I don't have enough money," he said.
Han is among the growing number of South Koreans who are either delaying marriage
or reluctant to tie the knot because they believe that they are not financially
prepared for such a major life event.
Add to that social changes in which more women receive higher education and enter
the workforce -- thus focusing more on their careers than marriage -- and the
result is that more South Koreans are putting off their nuptials, raising the
average age for tying the knot.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, among 492
single Korean men aged 30 to 35, a shortage of earned income topped the list of
reasons to delay marriage with 14.3 percent, followed by anxiety of job security
with 13.9 percent.
For 271 single women under the same age group, missing the "appropriate" time for
marriage ranked first with 17.6 percent, while employment conditions accounted
for a mere 4.4 percent.
"For single men, being either unemployed or lacking stable income sources seemed
to serve as important factors for postponing marriage," said Sohn Joo-young,
deputy director for the ministry's division of population policy.
In 2009, a total of 76 percent of about 1,740 single men were found to have an
inclination to get married, down from 83 percent in 2005, according to the
survey.
Out of about 1,580 unmarried women, a total of 73.1 percent said they want to
walk down the aisle, slightly down from 73.8 percent, it added.
"In general, men have more of an inclination or feel more of a need to get
married than women. But the survey shows men's willingness to wed declined more
sharply than women between the cited period, mainly due to insecure employment
conditions," Sohn said.
Since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis took away the long-cherished notion of
lifetime employment in South Korea, the job market situation has grown bleak with
the portion of temporary or part-time workers increasing.
The local economy recovered swiftly from the recent global financial turmoil, but
people have yet to feel the full impact of the recovery as the jobless rate was
presumed to reach 3.8 percent last year. The unemployment rate among people aged
between 15 and 29 has hovered above 6 percent.
"As more young people regard marriage as a matter of choice, they are holding off
on getting married," said Lee Sam-sik, head of the low fertility and aging
society research division at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
"Changes in traditional values about marriage, instability in job market
conditions and rising wedding costs are putting pressure on them to delay
marriage."
In land-starved South Korea, skyrocketing home prices are mainly to blame for a
pile of economic burdens for couples looking to tie the knot.
Lim Jung-mee (alias), a 31-year-old female office worker, never hesitates to say
that the costs associated with finding housing were among the biggest reasons she
could not help but hold off on her nuptials.
"I wanted to get married three years ago, but you can't just get married because
you're in love -- it takes a considerable amount of money," said Lim, who got
married in December to her husband of the same age after a 10-year relationship.
"My husband's parents could not help us financially in securing a home, so we
needed more time to save up money."
Lim and her husband managed to find a leased two-room house spanning 15 pyeong in
the eastern part of Seoul. One pyeong equals 3.3 square meters.
According to Sunoo, one of the country's largest matchmaking firms, the average
newly married couple spent 172.5 million won (US$154,017) in preparation for
their wedding in 2009, more than double the average of 82.8 million won in 2000.
In 2009, newlyweds needed an average of 127 million won to secure housing,
sharply up from 46.3 million won seen in 2000, indicating that finding a home is
one of the main economic burdens for Koreans in a society where men usually
provide a home upon marriage.
In South Korea, owning a home has long been regarded as the main way to augment
one's assets. But as higher real estate prices make it difficult for the large
numbers of would-be newlyweds to buy a home, most of them turn to leasing by
paying key money in a lump sum, called "jeonse," under a two-year contract.
Job market jitters have also led to a reduced number of marriages and raised the
average age for tying the knot, which is feared to aggravate the problem of South
Korea's low birthrate, experts say.
According to a report by the Bank of Korea (BOK), if temporary jobs increase by 1
percentage point, the number of marriages will fall by 330 and the jobless rate
will rise by the same margin, with the cases of marriage declining by between 835
and 1,040.
If other variables were stay intact, and housing prices and jeonse prices rise by
1 percentage point, the number of marriages would fall by 78 and 100,
respectively.
"To tackle the low birthrate and the problems of an aging society, efforts are
needed to cut child-rearing expenses and increase childcare facilities. But
fundamental solutions (to these problems) would be to bolster job security and
reduce the jobless rate," said Yi Sang-ho, a senior economist at the Institute
for Monetary and Economic Research under the BOK.
"To help reduce economic burdens of young people preparing for marriage, it is
important that (the government) stabilize home prices, in particular, jeonse
prices."
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
