New Generation South Korean Women Delay Marriage Due To Cultural, Economic Factors

by Jean Marie Abellana / Jan 19, 2016 10:11 AM EST

South Korean women are in no rush to get married. (Photo by Chung Sung Jung/Getty Images)

In 2009, South Korea recorded more than 300,000 marriages. This figure manifested a huge leap from the 18,000 recorded marriages in 2010, according to The Korea Herald's report on Oct. 10, 2010. While the wedding statistics reflected a dramatic increase over the past years, the report said that not all South Korean women believe that married is a must.

In the social survey statistics report released by Statistics Korea in 2014, in which women aboe the age of 13 were asked about their views on marriage, over 40 percent said that getting married is not a big deal in the contemporary society. This report, according to the article published in Korea Bang on Feb. 4, 2015, reflected that a significant number of female respondents believed that "Marriage is good, but not getting married is okay too."

The poor response of women towards marriage was linked to the cultural norms and economic status in the modern society. The Korea Herald's report said that more South Koreans tend to postpone marriage because of "adverse economic conditions" and the patriarchal structure of the community.

Park Min Kyoung, a 41-year-old single woman, agreed that financials, such as expensive mortgages and rent costs, were perceived to become barriers why some women chose not to engage in marital commitments. Moreover, she added that cultural practices were also a contributory factor, particularly the common notion that South Korean men do not see women equally.

"Korean men are so dominating. They don't know how to treat women. And in Korea many things are really different from other countries," Park said.

In support of her statement, Korean Women's Institute Director Professor Lee Jae Kyung remarked that the patriarchal nature of the South Korean society has dissuaded more and more women from getting married.

"Because of the gender division of labor and inequality in the patriarchal family, many Korean young women feel marriage is unfavorable to women," Professor Lee said.