By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
It is well known that the traditional definition of marriage as the union between a man and woman in love is losing ground. To some in the younger generation, however, the time-honored social institution is taken more as an investment opportunity for the future.
Experts say this is an offshoot of the atmosphere in society that places greater importance on monetary security.
Huh Kyung-hwan said he recently dumped his girlfriend of two years.
"She was really pretty and attractive," said the 32-year-old, a staff member of a major conglomerate in Seoul, whose annual wages amount to about 40 million won ($34,000). "But I decided to terminate our relationship because of her job as a temporary worker at a bank."
He said he was looking for a woman with a full-time position at a public company or a teacher to tie the knot with.
"I am not an isolated case. I know of many others who have done the same as I did."
A matchmaking company's recent survey also lends credence to this trend.
According to a survey of 482 unmarried men and women by Gayeon, a domestic matchmaking company, eight of 10 male respondents pointed out beauty as the foremost value in choosing a woman for dating.
Personality, academic background and economic power came next on the list. Women also showed a similar order in preference for dating partners.
But the results were quite different in selecting a spouse. Appearance was placed virtually at the bottom of the list, while the wealth of perspective spouses, their jobs and academic backgrounds topped the list.
Nearly 50 percent of female respondents placed top priority on prospective spouses' monetary value, followed by personality, alma mater and family background.
Hong Jeong-wook, spokesman for Duo, a major matchmaking agency, said: "Regardless of gender, money is one of the key elements in selecting a person to marry. In the past, men paid greater attention to beauty than other factors. But it's not the case any longer."
Prof. Kim Won-joong of Kunyang University said the series of economic crises has intensified such an atmosphere.
"More and more people began to seek partners with stable jobs and monetary stability for marriage to cope with economic uncertainty in the future," Kim said. "It should not be seen as a subject to be criticized. It is a lifestyle being developed as the result of their attempt to adapt to a new social setting."