By Kim Jae-won
For Koreans, the typical idea of a household of the past has long been a family of four. Two decades from now, however, the standard picture may no longer include spouses and children as the country’s population structure drastically changes.
One-member households will increase sharply in Korea, which has one of the world’s lowest birthrates, accounting for 34.3 percent of all families by 2035, up from 23.9 percent in 2010, according to a Statistics Korea report.
Childless couples will account for 22.7 percent of households that year, followed by one-child parents at 20.3 percent. About 9.7 percent of households will be single-parent families, while households where children live with their grandparents will account for 3.8 percent of the total, compared to 6.2 percent in 2010.
The three-member families with one child were the most common household in 2010, accounting for 37 percent of the total. The national statistics agency said the recent study, based on an analysis of the population in 16 large cities and provinces across the country, highlights demographic trends including low birthrates, increasing divorces and advancing wedding ages.
``Most of the one-member households will consist of old people living alone after losing their spouses. The average age where people marry for the first time is getting increasingly older and there are more divorces. This attributes to the size of families getting smaller,’’ said Statistics Korea director Seo Woon-ju.
While the shrinking of families is a reflection of changing living habits, Seo says the trends pose serious challenges in security and welfare, not to mention the strain the aging population is putting on the nation’s pension fund.
“Crimes against women who live alone have drawn a big attention from the media recently. Senior citizens’ suicides, provoked by their loneliness, are expected to increase, too,” she added.
A slew of rape and murder cases have been hogging the headlines of newspapers in recent months, raising questions whether violent crime is becoming uncontrollable. Korea also leads all other advanced nations in the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation in the frequency of deaths by suicide. The country’s suicide rate is particularly high among older people who live in poverty..
Households headed by women breadwinners will increase rapidly in the coming years thanks to their improved social status. These will account for 35.1 percent of all families in 2035, up 10 percentage points from 2010.
In terms of marital status of a householder, those who are married will plunge to 53.7 percent in 2035 from 66.6 percent in 2010. Unmarried householders will account for one fifth, while divorced and widow householders will mark 14.8 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively.