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By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
For 28-year-old large corporate worker Lee Ji-hye, marriage is definitely an option because she doesn't want to "juggle between household chores and her professional life."
"Returning home exhausted, and then having to clean up, cook and take care of the children _ that's a lot of work!" she said. "I don't really think a husband will be much of a help there."
Some men may disagree, but according to a recent report on a nationwide survey, Korean men are actually reluctant to contribute to household chores, regardless of what they do.
The Population Association of Korea on Monday released a report by Prof. Eun Ki-su of Seoul National University on role-sharing between couples at home. He studied the National Statistical Office's (NSO) survey on 12,394 married couples nationwide and found that women were more inclined to spend time doing household chores than their partners.
In the case of couples with a single income ― whether the husband or wife is the bread winner ― men spent 7.9 hours doing house chores, while women spent 8.9 to 10 hours. The professor estimated that husbands spend an average of 0.6 to 1.1 hours daily helping out at home while women spend 3.1 to 4.8 hours.
Even jobless men were found to be spending much less time doing household chores. They spent 1.6 to 3.2 hours, while their spouses spent 3.1 to 4.8 hours.
"It seems that women are dealing with lots of work inside the house regardless of their own jobs or their husbands' occupation. With added responsibilities of childcare, the amount of domestic chores for the woman is quite large," Eun said.
He noted that even though husbands help with childcare, the larger amount of chores tend to fall on the shoulders of women.
Studies have indicated that such inequality triggers Korean women's reluctance to tie the knot.
In a separate research project by the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI), 71.3 percent of males said chores are for women.
This led to only 11.5 percent of women hoping to get married, the KWDI said, while 46.7 percent did not want to.
"It seems that an equal status in housework and responsibilities is an important factor in convincing young single women to get married," Jeon Ki-taek, the institute researcher, said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
