"My Future Matters More Than Marriage" 2030 Dreaming of Life After Retirement [Heo Midam's Youth Report]

Millennials Think More About 'Post-Retirement' Than Marriage
Younger Generation Prefers 'Cohabitation' Over 'Marriage'
Experts Say "Non-Marriage Phenomenon Linked to Economic Issues"

The bride and groom are holding hands at the wedding hall. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] [Editor's Note] How is your youth remembered? From teenagers to college students and office workers, we share the joys and sorrows unique to 'youth.'

"Why get married in this day and age?", "I should invest in my future rather than spend money preparing for marriage."

Office worker Kim (33), who identifies as part of the 'non-marriage group,' gave up on marriage due to economic reasons. Kim said, "As I entered my 30s, relatives and family kept asking, 'When will you get married?' I never completely ruled out marriage, but the expenses from marriage, child-rearing, and education are so high that I had no choice but to give up."

The phenomenon of avoiding marriage is spreading mainly among young people. Unlike in the past when they pursued romance such as dating, they now focus on practical matters like 'owning a home.'

In particular, as young people feel burdened by economic factors related to marriage and child-rearing, some in their 20s and 30s choose cohabitation as an alternative to marriage. Experts say that for young people who seek freedom, marriage can rather feel like a 'constraint.'

Recently, young people have been saving money for practical goals such as 'owning a home' rather than marriage. According to a survey by Mirae Asset Retirement Research Institute of 700 people aged 24 to 39 nationwide, 31% of respondents chose 'funding home purchase' as their top financial goal, 23% chose 'accumulating retirement assets,' and only 15% chose 'saving for marriage.'

Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement 'Marriage is a must' was lower at 31% than those who disagreed at 39%, and for the statement 'Having children is necessary,' 39% disagreed while 36% agreed.

Overall, young people not only do not feel a strong need for marriage and child-rearing but also value their own future more than marriage.

At the 54th Wedex Korea Wedding Fair held last July at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, prospective grooms and brides are looking at wedding dresses. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Another office worker, Jung (31), said, "Marriage and child-rearing are still burdensome," adding, "After paying rent and maintenance fees with my salary, there isn't much money left. It's hard enough to manage my own future, so how could I get married and have children?"

He added, "I save about 30% of my salary. Since I don't know what the future holds, I try to save little by little."

With this situation, both the number of marriages and birth rates are declining. According to Statistics Korea, the cumulative number of marriages from January to May this year was 92,101, the lowest since records began, and the total fertility rate (the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime) also dropped from 1.17 in 2016 to 1.05 in 2017, 0.98 in 2018, and 0.92 (provisional) in 2019.

As more people find marriage burdensome, some young people have chosen cohabitation as an alternative. This choice stems from a desire for a free life without responsibility for someone else and economic reasons.

Park (28), who has been dating her boyfriend for two years, said, "We don't have any particular thoughts about marriage yet," but added, "If we do get married, I think we would cohabit first."

She said, "In foreign countries, cohabitation is preferred over marriage. I feel the same way. I think it's an opportunity to check if our lifestyles are compatible before getting married."

Like Park, support for non-marital cohabitation is growing among young people. According to the '2018 Korea Social Indicators' released by Statistics Korea, 56.4% of respondents agreed with the statement "I agree with living together without getting married." This is 8.4 percentage points higher than the previous survey in 2016 (48.0%), meaning more than half of respondents support non-marital cohabitation. Especially among young age groups, 74.4% of those in their 20s and 73.2% in their 30s viewed non-marital cohabitation positively.

Experts analyze that young people avoid marriage due to the economic costs associated with marriage, such as buying a newlywed home and child-rearing expenses.

Professor Kwak Geumju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology explained, "Getting married inevitably brings financial burdens such as securing a newlywed home. Also, child-rearing costs cannot be ignored, so recently young people tend to prefer cohabitation over marriage."

She added, "Young people also choose cohabitation to avoid the responsibilities that come with marriage. They want to enjoy freedom rather than being constrained after marriage and seek satisfaction on their own."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.