More Than Half of Young Adults Say "Might Not Marry"... Men Bear Livelihood, Women Family Relationship Burden

Gender-Sensitive Analysis and Future Outlook on Youth Life Course
'I Will Definitely Marry' Twice as Many Men (37.1%) as Women (18.7%)
40% of Men and Women Undecided on Childbirth... Burden of Childcare Costs and Lack of Confidence in Parenthood
"Society Discriminates Against My Gender" 74.6% Women, 51.7% Men
Persistent Gender Stereotype Role Expectations in Family, School, and Workplace

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] More than half of young men and women think that marriage is not necessarily required. Men cited financial burdens related to livelihood and marriage costs, while women pointed to the lack of a compelling reason to marry or the burden of family relationships.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the results of a study titled "Gender-Sensitive Analysis and Future Prospects of Young People's Life Course." According to a survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute and Gallup Korea targeting 10,101 young people aged 15 to 39, 57.4% of women and 51.9% of men responded that they might or might not get married. The percentage of men who said they would definitely marry (37.1%) was twice that of women (18.7%).

Both men and women showed a cautious attitude toward childbirth. 40.7% of men and 37% of women answered that they had "not decided yet." Among women, the most common response was that they had no intention to have children (41.4%), whereas among men, "definitely will have children" (36.7%) was the second most common answer. Only 21.6% of women said they would definitely have children.

The reasons for hesitation or indecision about childbirth also differed by gender. Men most frequently cited the burden of child-rearing and education costs (46.1%), while women most often responded that they lacked confidence in becoming good parents (31.7%). Other reasons women avoided childbirth included ▲burden of child-rearing and education costs 28.2%, ▲not wanting to live tied down by children 15.5%, and ▲single-handed childcare and work interference 14.2%.

Young men and women receive equal education and grow up with expectations for the future, but they experience gender discrimination in family, workplace, and school. This is because practices remain that, based on gender stereotypes, demand women to handle housework and caregiving, and men to fulfill economic roles.

The research team explained, "There is a significant numerical difference in the perception of gender discrimination experienced by women and the understanding of this by men, due to the different discriminatory realities demanded of each gender," adding, "As these experiences accumulate, each gender perceives discrimination against their own sex."

Perception of gender discrimination was slightly higher among women. 74.6% of women thought society was unfair to women, compared to 18.6% of men. When asked if society was unfair to men, 51.7% of men agreed, while only 7.7% of women did.

At home, it is taken for granted that women help with housework and food preparation. 55.4% of women agreed with this. At school, heavy lifting tasks are mainly assigned to male students. About 80% of both men and women agreed with this. Regarding the division of work by gender in the workplace, 44.5% of men and 32.8% of women agreed. 51.8% of women responded that preparing refreshments and drinks is assigned to women, and 40.9% of men said women are excluded from long-distance business trips.

The research team stated, "Women experience a considerable amount of discrimination, and men also face role demands based on gender stereotypes in family, school, and workplace," explaining, "This is because they perceive the burden of their respective gender roles and expectations as discrimination."

Beyond gender discrimination, sexual objectification is more frequently experienced by women. 75.6% of women have encountered sexually objectifying content on the internet, communities, videos, news, and advertisements. Experiences of appearance or body evaluation and witnessing the sharing of obscene materials were slightly higher among men (17.8%) than women (15.0%).

In particular, awareness of gender equality tended to be stronger among younger age groups, who felt their own gender was more unequal. Among women aged 19-24, 77% recognized gender inequality in society, and among men aged 19-24, 54.1% did.

Regarding this, the research team said, "The survey included many people in their early 20s and college students, a group particularly interested in feminism and gender issues," adding, "They are proficient in using the internet and digital devices, and have been exposed to many online gender-related debates and experiences, which we believe led to these results."

Based on the survey results, the research team recommended institutionalizing gender equality education that critically recognizes information about gender inequality, along with improving organizational culture to close the gender perception gap.

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