"More Focus on Wealth Management than Dating" Increasing Share of 'Bihon Life' After COVID-19

The proportion of non-marriage (非婚) ideology is increasing among young people in the COVID-19 era. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Among young people in the COVID-19 era, the proportion of non-marriage (非婚) ideology is increasing for reasons such as "the importance of happiness in the present."

According to the Chosun Ilbo on the 1st, after last year's COVID shock, numerous books on the theme of non-marriage flooded the publishing market. The authors stated that the massive liquidity bubble after COVID is shaking the family structure and lifestyle of our society, making the era where marriage is a riskier burden more apparent.

Kim (33), an office worker in his 30s, said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, "Life at work has become more enjoyable after COVID," adding, "Because the company encourages working from home and all company dinners or evening appointments were canceled, my personal time has increased significantly."

He continued, "I used to get asked a lot about when I would get married at company dinners, but since those dinners disappeared, that stress vanished completely," and said, "I spend my evenings after work playing my favorite Nintendo games."

Lee (27), who got a job last year, said he has become closer to a non-marriage advocate after experiencing the skyrocketing housing prices, stating, "These days, decent apartments in the Seoul area cost over 1 billion won. Despite this situation, the social atmosphere still expects men to bear more financial burden and prepare a newlywed home."

Lee said, "Since owning a home has become realistically difficult, I think it's better to be lonely alone than to suffer together."

Also, Choi (in his 40s), a non-marriage advocate lawyer, said, "I don't want to spend money and time dating one person, and I have no intention of getting married in the future," adding, "With my current salary, I don't have many places to spend, so I can boldly invest hundreds of millions of won in stocks or join funds."

According to last year's Statistics Korea survey, among the population aged 13 and over, 51.2% believe that one should get married, which is 13.5% lower than 10 years ago in 2010 (64.7%).