9 out of 10 People Say "It's Hard to Get Married Without Money"
"I'd Rather Not Have Children Than Fail to Provide Financial Support"
"Burden of Childcare and Education Costs Hinders Childbirth"
Marriage and childbirth are important events in life, but a survey has found that they are increasingly perceived as matters of choice rather than necessities due to economic burdens and other factors.
On the 17th, Embrain Trend Monitor, a market research firm, conducted a 'Survey on Perceptions of Marriage and Childbirth' targeting 1,000 adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide. The results showed that while the importance of marriage and childbirth was highly valued, there was a strong attitude that these are now personal choices.
Marriage is important but... "not necessarily"
Respondents generally believed that experiences of marriage and childbirth have a significant impact on life (71.3%), but 8 out of 10 said marriage is a choice rather than a necessity, and 9 out of 10 said having children after marriage is also a matter of choice.
This perception was widely shared, but especially among women and younger people in their 20s, there was a distinct tendency to view marriage (women 38.2%, 20s 32.8%) and childbirth (women 34.0%, 20s 35.2%) as "not necessarily required" compared to other groups.
Embrain explained, "Since in Korean society women’s careers are often interrupted by marriage and childbirth, it is interpreted that young adults and women, who are more focused on personal growth, show higher intentions for non-marriage and non-childbirth than other age groups."
"I haven't even saved money to get married... I'd rather not have children than fail to provide economic support"
The expanding perception that 'marriage is a choice, not a necessity' seems to reflect the economic burdens associated with marriage. Nine out of ten respondents strongly agreed that "in our country, it is difficult to get married without money."
In fact, the biggest barriers making marriage difficult were "difficulty securing stable housing (57.0%, multiple responses)" and "not having a comfortable economic situation (41.4%)."
Especially among young adults starting their careers, reasons such as "no savings for marriage funds (40.0%)" and "economic instability due to job preparation (38.1%)" were cited as reasons for not considering marriage.
The perception that 'childbirth is a choice, not a necessity' also appears to be heavily influenced by economic burdens.
Among all respondents, 70.6% evaluated the heavy burden of childcare and education costs as a realistic barrier to childbirth. Additionally, more than half (54.5%) responded that if they cannot provide economic support to future children, it is better not to have them.
Among those who are married but do not have children, the most common reason given was "economic burden (31.5%)."
Fundamental structural improvements needed rather than temporary cash measures
Despite these perceptions, there was a strong concern (89.3%) that a declining birthrate would cause serious problems in Korean society.
Structural social issues such as the burden of marriage and childcare costs (68.7%), worsening economic difficulties for the younger generation (53.3%), and labor environments that make balancing childcare difficult (48.8%) were identified as key reasons for the declining birthrate. Many expressed the need for fundamental improvements to the social system.
They recognized that "temporary cash support alone will not be a clear solution to increase the birthrate."
Respondents emphasized the need to create an environment conducive to raising children, including "solving the real estate market problem (80.4%)," expanding "maternity and childcare leave (53.7%)," providing "childbirth and childcare allowances (53.1%)," and improving "labor conditions (51.2%)."
Embrain added, "Since various problems can arise in different sectors due to low birthrates, it seems necessary for government ministries to move beyond formal and superficial methods and make diverse efforts to establish more effective and realistic measures."
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