Doctors marry doctors, professors marry professors... 'Kkirikkiri' marriages in US professions

1 in 5 US Doctors Has a Spouse Who Is Also a Doctor
High-Education Same-Profession Marriages Common Among Professors, Legal Professionals
Korea Shows Surprisingly Low Trend of Income Homogamy

A survey in the United States found that the occupation with the highest rate of marrying within the same profession is 'doctor.' Following that, 'professor' also showed a high rate, indicating that highly educated individuals tend to marry within their own professional groups.

According to a recent survey published by the American daily newspaper The Washington Post (WP), 18.5% of American doctors are married to fellow doctors, marking the highest rate of intra-professional marriage. Professors also ranked high, with 13.9% marrying other professors, tying for second place along with restaurant and hotel managers.

The ranking continued with ▲farm managers (13.3%) ▲legal professionals (13.0%) ▲dentists (11.1%) ▲pharmacists (11.1%) ▲software developers (10.6%) ▲elementary school teachers (9.8%). The survey examined the relationship between occupation and marriage from 2012 to 2021.

[Image source=Pixabay]

WP noted that "occupations requiring high educational attainment dominated the top ranks," and questioned, "Does long and arduous studying help in forming romantic relationships? Or does studying limit romantic relationships, restricting the range and opportunities to find partners because one is confined within a certain circle?"

WP interpreted that the latter seems to apply to doctors. One in five doctors married someone in the same profession, which largely overlaps with the typical marriage age of American men, 28 to 30 years old, since medical school study usually extends into the early 30s.

Occupations with High Rates of Marrying Outside Their Profession: Firefighters and Police Officers

[Image source=Pixabay]

On the other hand, the occupations with the highest rates of marrying people from different professions were firefighters and police officers. According to the WP survey, 9.7% of firefighters married nurses, and 6.8% married elementary or middle school teachers. Additionally, 5.9% of police officers married elementary or middle school teachers, and 5.8% married nurses.

WP analyzed this as a result of gender ratios. Since firefighting and policing are male-dominated professions, there is a higher chance of finding partners outside their occupation, often resulting in marriages with nurses or teachers, professions with a higher proportion of female workers.

Despite the era of dual-income households, single-income families remain common, especially in male-dominated, physically demanding jobs, WP reported.

In fact, more than 40% of military personnel have spouses who do not work outside the home. WP interpreted this as due to the unique nature of the military profession. Military personnel often face relocations to different states or countries upon promotion and endure demanding work during their 20s and 30s, a typical child-rearing period, which often requires their spouses to care for children away from family and friends.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense stated, "Military families relocate to different states every 2 to 3 years on average, and sometimes overseas," adding, "We provide programs supporting spouses' job searches, including career management and education assistance."

South Korea Shows Remarkably Low 'Marrying Within the Same Group'

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the tendency for men and women with similar income levels to marry each other?so-called homogamy?is relatively low compared to other major countries.

According to a report titled "The Impact of Income Homogamy and Household Structure on Household Income Inequality: Focusing on International Comparisons," published by the Bank of Korea in January, South Korea's income homogamy index was 1.16 times, significantly lower than the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) average of 1.6 times. Among the 34 countries analyzed, South Korea ranked the lowest.

This index measures how frequently couples with similar incomes?such as high-income with high-income or low-income with low-income?are observed compared to randomly paired households, indicating that South Korea has a lower tendency toward homogamy than other major countries.

The weaker tendency for income homogamy is interpreted as meaning that although marriages between high-income men and women are common in South Korea, marriages between high-income men and non-working or low-income women, as well as between low-income or non-working men and women with middle or higher incomes, occur relatively more frequently compared to other major countries.

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