By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Parents in Gangnam, southern Seoul, prefer arranged marriages for their children as opposed to non-arranged ones. The main reason was to allow children to meet potential spouses from similar backgrounds out of concern that they might meet people with objectionable backgrounds.
Matchmaking company Daks Club surveyed 546 parents with unmarried children aged 26 to 35. The respondents all lived in Gangnam or Bundang, the southern outskirts of Seoul, the so-called well off areas.
About 51.8 percent of the respondents said they prefer arranged marriages. Meanwhile, 30.6 percent preferred non-arranged ones and 17.6 percent replied they ``do not care.''
As for the reasons, 38.5 percent of the people preferring arranged marriages said that they seek potential in-laws from similar backgrounds. Additionally, they want to help children choose better spouses and meet people within ``marriageable ages.''
The parents' biggest concern was their children living with someone with an undesirable background.
``The research showed that parents wanted to take part in their children's marriages in the early stages because they fear that their children may stay single and they want their children's spouses to be from similar economic and cultural backgrounds rather than someone with only a good personality,'' Kim Il-sub, CEO of the matchmaking company, explained.