The following is a contribution by Dr. Lee Young-jin, Daegu Conel Urology Hospital. ­ED.

If there is one topic that fills the television screen, it’s “adultery.” Because of dramas with affairs that pop out every time one changes the channel, Korean wives glare at their husbands sitting next to them - but why do men have affairs?

There are many opinions on the issue ranging from men’s nature to produce offspring, to the premise of “The Capital,” which states men seek something illicit after they become rich.

Unlike women, men do not have menopause. Of course, there is a decrease in sexual desire and biological activity like women’s menopause, but the problem is it’s not as noticeable as the menopause. Males’ climacterium progresses slowly and quietly.

When a man reaches his 40s, the cells in his testicles that secrete male hormones slowly die. The older a man gets, the more stress he receives and the more alcohol and cigarettes he indulges in, and the faster this process accelerates.

As the cell dies out, the level of testosterone decreases. In proportion to this decrease, erectile function also declines. At this point, males get anxious that their genitals are failing to do their job, and they subconsciously obsess over sexual activity and try to increase the frequency of the act.

It may not seem understandable at first but men who suspect their failure as males will compulsively engage in sexual activities to prove their masculinity [that is not a failure] and will obsess over sex to prove this.

If they prove this in sex with their wives, they would be able to manage a happy family. But they can hardly be successful in their attempts due to the prejudices that their wives know about their dwindling sexual ability. As a result, they look for women who will acknowledge them as men.

This may seem like defending men but it’s something worth thinking over. Aren’t “crisis of 40s” and “40-year-old breadwinner’s lethargy” phrases we easily encounter? When we think about it, adultery and side-glances of a breadwinner in his 40s seem to come from continuous self-checks on masculinity, and anxiety.

This is why I sympathizes with men in their 40s. However, it’s unclear whether adultery is thriving in Korea or whether the topic is provocative enough in the competitive television viewer ratings survey.