Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Only 3 in 10 teenagers think marriage is necessary
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By Jung Da-hyun
A mere three out of 10 teenagers believe that marriage is necessary, according to a survey released by the National Youth Policy Institute on Wednesday. The survey also highlighted that only 19 percent of adolescents believe it is imperative to have children upon getting married.
It is noted that these shifting values among the younger demographic should be taken into account when formulating strategies to address the issue of declining birthrates in the future.
The survey was conducted on 7,718 elementary, middle and high school students nationwide from May to July last year.
The survey outcome indicates a noteworthy decline in cognition toward marriage among respondents, with only 29.5 percent saying it is necessary. This marks a significant drop from the 73.2 percent consensus observed in 2012.
The trend is particularly pronounced among female students. The percentage of male students viewing marriage as obligatory dwindled from 82.3 percent in 2012 to 39.5 percent last year. Over the same period, the response rate among female students witnessed a substantial decrease from 63.1 percent to 18.8 percent.
Researchers attributed this shift to a growing perception that marriage is not imperative but rather a matter of individual choice, a particularly prevalent notion among female students.
Furthermore, only 19.8 percent of respondents believe that having children is essential when getting married, while 60.6 percent think it's acceptable to have children without marriage.
This indicates a detachment between marriage and childbirth in the minds of teenagers.
Approximately 81.3 percent of them believe that men and women can cohabit without marriage, and 91.4 percent are supportive of interracial marriages.
In addition, 52 percent of teenagers express approval of the government allowing same-sex marriage.
The survey also uncovered evolving views on family dynamics, as 61.4 percent of teenagers consider robot humans or robot pets as potential family members and 89.4 percent expressed they can adopt children.
In terms of partner selection, 82 percent of respondents prioritize personality, maintaining a consistent trend since 2008 when the survey began.
However, economic status, which traditionally took the second spot, has been pushed back to third place, with appearance and charm now coming in second.
The researchers say that the survey results suggest a clear departure from traditional values about marriage and family among adolescents. It underscores a pressing need for fundamental changes in family and childbirth policies.
Moreover, the researchers contended that the majority's endorsement of non-marital cohabitation and increasing support for same-sex marriage indicate this is a crucial moment to redefine the societal concept of family.
They advocated for the implementation of European-style universal family policies, such as childbirth and parenting support programs designed to provide equitable assistance to all families without discrimination.