Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Wives less satisfied with spouses than husbands
By Kim Rahn
Wives are less satisfied with their spouses than husbands are, a survey showed Sunday.
More than half of both wives and husbands said they don’t express their opinions frankly to their partners.
The survey released by Seoul Metropolitan Government showed that 73.4 percent of husbands replied they are satisfied with their spouses, while 64.9 percent of wives said so.
The result was based on the city government’s survey conducted last October on 22,839 men and 24,171 women aged 15 and over in Seoul and a Statistics Korea’s research last May on 2,241 men and 2,425 women.
When asked whom they consult with when having problems, 85.2 percent of husbands selected their wives.
Some 80 percent of wives also chose husbands, and 13.2 percent said they seek counsel from their mothers, children or siblings.
Less than half of the surveyed couples were candid with their spouses — 48.8 percent of husbands and 48.4 percent of wives said yes to the question whether they can frankly express their likes and dislikes to their partners, the survey showed.
Another 11.3 percent of husbands and 13.6 percent of wives said no, while the remains answered “sometimes.”
“The younger generation expressed their opinions to their spouses more frankly than older ones,” a city official said.
On household chores for a double-income family, 37 percent of the couples said the husbands and wives should share them equally.
But in reality, the percentage of couples sharing housework came in at 17.3 percent.
Some 54 percent said wives should take the main responsibility for the chores and husbands should help, and the real situation was similar — 58.5 percent of the families were doing so.
Seoul citizens’ marrying age has increased.
Men married at 32.2 on average in 2010, 3.9 years older than 1990’s 28.3.
Women’s average marriage age also jumped to 29.8 from 25.5 during the same period.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
By Kim Rahn
남편이 아내보다 더 "배우자에 만족ㆍ의존"
남편이 아내보다 더 배우자에게 만족하고, 정신적으로 의지하는 비율이 높다는 조사결과가 나왔다.
서울시가 부부의 날(21일)을 앞두고 2010 서울서베이와 통계청 사회조사 자료를 분석해 15일 내놓은 결과에 따르면 서울 거주 부부 1천410쌍 중 '배우자에 만족한다'는 남편은 73.4%로 아내(64.9%)보다 8.5% 포인트 많았다.
이는 2006년 남편의 만족률이 63.3%, 아내의 만족률이 51.1%인 데 비해 각각 10.1%포인트, 13.8%포인트 높아진 결과다.
또 부부 1만5천600쌍을 대상으로 한 서울서베이에서도 `고민을 배우자와 상담한다'는 응답자가 남편의 85.2%, 아내의 80.3%로, 남편 쪽이 배우자에 의지하는 비율이 높았다. '부부가 공통된 가치관을 지녔다'고 응답한 비율도 남편은 44.7%였으나 아내의 41.7%로 조금 적었다.
`배우자에 솔직한 의사표현을 한다'는 응답자는 남녀 각각 48.8%, 48.4%로 큰 차이가 없었다.
결혼에 대한 견해를 물은 결과 `결혼해야 한다'는 답은 남성은 67.2%로 여성 59.5%보다 7.7%포인트 많았고, `결혼은 선택사항'이라는 견해는 여성이 36.7%로 남성 29.8%보다 많았다.
한편 지난해 통계청 인구동향조사 결과 서울 남성의 평균 초혼 연령은 1990년 28.3세에서 2010년 32.2세로 20년 동안 3.9세 높아졌으며, 여성은 25.5세에서 29.8세로 4.3세 높아졌다.
또 지난해 이혼한 부부 중 동거기간이 20년 이상인 부부는 27.3%로 `4년 이내 이혼'의 25%보다 2.3%포인트 높았다. 50세 이상(남편기준) 부부가 이혼한 비율도 32.7%로 1990년 8.5%의 4배 가까이로 늘었다. (연합)