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.
Work takes priority over marriage, children for Koreans in 20s to 40s: survey
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By Jung Da-hyun
A majority of Koreans in their 20s to 40s place greater importance on their careers than on marriage or having children, according to a report released Monday by the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion.
The report examined changing perceptions of family and labor roles through a nationwide online survey of 2,690 men and women aged 25 to 44 conducted from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14.
When asked to rank the most important aspects of life, 38.1 percent of respondents — regardless of gender — chose work as their top priority, followed by personal life elements such as leisure and self-fulfillment at 23.1 percent, romantic partnerships, including dating and marriage, at 22 percent and children at 16.8 percent.
While work consistently topped the list for both men and women, the remaining priorities showed slight gender differences.
Women placed a greater emphasis on personal life at 24.5 percent over partnerships at 20.9 percent, whereas men ranked partnership at 23.1 percent ahead of personal life at 21.7 percent. Children were the lowest priority for both genders, with 17 percent of women and 16.6 percent of men selecting it as most important.
Work emerged as the top life priority across all age groups and genders, regardless of parental status. Even among respondents with children, work remained the most important, while children consistently ranked lowest — except among women in their early 40s.
Regarding the meaning of work, 78 percent said it was essential for earning a living, describing it as inevitable.
The survey also found broad consensus on the need for women's participation in the labor market, with approximately 80 percent of women and around 70 percent of men agreeing on its importance.
Both men and women largely disagreed with the statement that a mother's work status has a negative impact on her children.
Around 70 percent of men and 80 percent of women also expressed strong support for men’s increased involvement in housework and parenting, particularly in dual-income households where men were found to actively share domestic and caregiving responsibilities.
The report concluded that the high level of agreement between men and women on shifting gender roles — with women more engaged in work and men more involved in family life — signals a need to adopt effective policies in this direction.
It emphasized that policies based on the assumption that women are full-time housewives is increasingly outdated and called for enhanced support measures that reflect women's active role in the labor market.