Marriage rate on sharp drop

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By Kim Jae-heun

Many young people are delaying marriage until they find employment and save a certain amount of money. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), Tuesday, the marriage rate has plummeted rapidly over the last 20 years.

Kim Soo-hyun had once planned to get married in her early 20s. It was her dream to have a family and go on picnics together by the Han River in Seoul.

However, now at 31, Kim does not even have a boyfriend.

“It was my dream to date a guy for two to three years and get married at age 24. I heard younger mothers give birth to more healthy babies,” Kim told The Korea Times. “But I learned the reality that you cannot get married if you don't have money or a job in Korea.”

She said at least 50 million won ($44,456) is needed just for a wedding in Korea. But before that, a couple should have saved 200 million won together and borrow an additional 100 million won from the bank to start off at a small apartment in a commuter town outside the capital city.

“I am talking under the circumstance that you've graduated straight from university and found a high-paying job and saved at least half of your salary for five years,” Kim said. “You can say no job means no marriage, unless your parents are rich.”

In 2015, 90 percent of Korean men aged between 25 and 29 were unmarried, a sharp increase from 64 percent in 1995. The ratio hiked among all male age groups: for those aged between 30 and 34 went from 19 percent unmarried to 56 percent; those between 35 and 39 went from 7 percent to 33 percent; and those between 40 and 44, from 3 percent to 23 percent.

The trend was the same for women, as 30 percent of women aged between 25 and 29 were unmarried in 1995 but 77 percent in 2015. For those aged between 30 and 34, the unmarried ratio went up from 7 percent to 38 percent, those between 35 and 39, from 3 percent to 19 percent; and those between 40 and 44, from 2 percent to 11 percent.

The rate of unmarried young people is higher than that of Japan, which faced the same issue at a much earlier period.

Japan showed a lower marriage rate among young people than Korea back in 1995, but its rate is now higher than Korea's.

Besides marriage, the number of young people in relationships is also low, as only 33 percent of unmarried men and 37 percent of women aged between 20 and 44 were in one, according to 2012 data. That number also dropped to nearly zero among the age group of 30 to 35.

The KIHASA said in its report that Koreans in their 30s give up dating to focus on their careers and they do not start relationships easily because many think relationships need to lead to marriage.

“The government has to help young people secure financial stability to encourage them to have relationships and get married,” KIHASA said in the report.