Women against cohabitation without marriage in mind
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By Kim Jae-heun
A growing number of single women here are open to living with their partner, but more than half of them say they wouldn't do so if marriage was not part of the plan.
Lee Ji-yeon, 30, is an office worker planning to get married to her boyfriend next year. Growing up in a conservative family, Lee is almost certain that her parents would never condone her living with her fiance prior to marriage. But she thinks it is not a bad idea to experience living with a partner before getting married.
“You think you know all about your boyfriend or girlfriend just because you have been going out for more than a couple of years,” Lee said during an interview with the Korea Times. “But it is said dating and living together are two very different things. You can experience a totally different person that you never knew.”
Another single woman surnamed Kim said cohabitation was a good way to prevent divorce, which has become very common here these days.
“My two uncles got divorced recently. In the past, living with a boyfriend or girlfriend before getting married was almost taboo and people had no choice but to find out what it was like living with their partners only after getting married,” Kim said.
“Now, people's perception has changed and you can easily find unmarried friends living with their partners. I would do it too, but only with a boyfriend that I am planning to get married to.”
According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' report, Thursday, seven out of 10 single women here said they agree with cohabitation when marriage is intended.
This was a big leap compared to 2015, when a little over 51 percent of single women agreed with cohabitation.
However, the ratio dropped when it comes to the idea of cohabitation without the premise of marriage ― 52.3 percent of women opposed living with their partner if they were not in a serious relationship that would lead to marriage.
Meanwhile, single men took a positive stance on cohabitation whether marriage was the end goal or not.
Over 77 percent of men who participated in the survey said they would live with their girlfriend with the precondition of marriage; while 56.5 percent didn't need the marriage premise.
“The gap between men and women regarding ideas on cohabitation reflects that society still has a negative perception about cohabitation without marriage, and that women have to face more of this sentiment and prejudice than men,” the report said.
The survey was conducted on 1,140 men and 1,324 women aged between 20 and 44, all unmarried.