Over half single or two-person households in Seoul

By Lee Kyung-min

Over 50 percent households in Seoul consist of just one or two people, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Seoul released a yearly interview-based survey of 20,000 Korean households and 2,500 foreigners living in the city in 2016.

Nearly 55 percent of households consisted of fewer than two people, with the proportion of such households expected to reach 68 percent in 2035. About 30 percent were single-person households. Thirteen out of 25 districts had over 30 percent of single households including Gwanak (45.1 percent), Jung (38.2 percent), Jongno (37.6 percent). The average age of household members was 51.5, up three years from 48.5, an indicator that shows the growing trend of an aging society.

The rise in the number of one- or two-person households will continue for the time being, the study projected, further backed by ongoing trends whereby an increasing number of young, highly-educated women consider marriage an option, not a requirement. Many women of childbearing age either delay or forgo getting married, ending up not having a baby at all in Korea, a country where almost all responsibility of childbirth and childrearing falls on women.

This is widely considered another major driver of the lowest birthrate in Korea which ranked 219th out of 224 countries surveyed in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report last December. Korea's birthrate remains the lowest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries.

The increase in late-life divorces among the elderly aged over 60, is also a major contributing factor. Low-income single-person households experience what police call “unattended deaths,” a growing number of which occur among men in their 50s due largely to family breakdowns including divorce. They are triggered by financial difficulties brought on by early retirement or a sudden lay-off.

According to a separate data, of over 3,300 such deaths, over a fifth, or 22.4 percent occurred among men in their 50s, followed by men in their 60s and 70s. Similarly, data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that of 8,190 unattended deaths between 2012 and in the first half of 2017, around 20 percent were men in their 50s.

Unemployment, which more often than not results in divorce, further strains those men's emotional standing as they might feel guilty if they are unable to support their families. Men with no means to financially provide for their families could lose face with their wives and children, experts say.

“They are likely to feel shame with their self-esteem plummeting, which may well result in depression and other mental health problems,” said Sul Dong-hoon, a professor of sociology at Chonbuk National University.