By Kim Tong-hyung
The decreasing size of the average family seems to reflect the rising number of unmarried adults, couples choosing to have fewer children and the surge in divorces amid the economic crisis. And it appears that these ``micro’’ households are frequently at the core of Korea’s vast poverty problem.
For Koreans, the quintessential family photo has long been the family of four. However, official figures from Statistics Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which show that there are more people living alone in Seoul than there are four-person households, confirm a deconstruction of the old family structure.
Those living alone, childless couples and single-parent families accounted for around 47 percent of all households in Seoul as of 2010, representing nearly a 60 percent increase since the turn of the millennium.
The proportion of households containing just one person rose by some 352,300 over the past decade to reach 854,600, or about 24.4 percent of all families in the city. Four-member families, in comparison, accounted for 23.1 percent of the total in 2010.
The explanations for the predominance of single-person households seem clear-cut, along with more people remaining ring-less than in previous generations, divorce seems to be the demise for those that boldly walk down the aisle. In recent years the sluggish economy also puts families under tight financial strains.
Households made up of divorced persons increased by nearly 85 percent over the past decade to some 119,680 as of 2010, according to official figures.
The problem is that the reshaping of the Korean family seems to be influenced just as much by money problems as the individualistic living behavior of the 21st century.
According to Statistics Korea officials, about 45 percent of one-person households failed to earn 50 percent of the country’s median income in 2010. Meanwhile more than 28 percent of two-member households, the majority of which are single-parent families lived below the same average.
The increasing number of families relying on women is also a sign of worsening household finances, as despite all the speechifying about equality, the gap in pay and job opportunities between men and women continues to be a massive gulf.
``Records show that families depending on female breadwinners earn just around 70 percent of the income of the average family. Divorced women frequently rely on low-paid, casual jobs as they are required to double as mothers and income-earners, so it’s hard for them to find a jobs that pays them more than 1 million won a month, and the government’s basic living subsidy of 300,000 won a month doesn’t come close enough to cutting it,’’ said a researcher from the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).
``Another problem is the lax control on divorcees, as records show that only 13 percent of divorce parents fulfill childcare payment duties to their former spouse who raises their children.’’
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr