The Top Concern for Single-Person Household Women is 'Economic Stability'... What is the Number One Concern for Men?

KB Financial Publishes '2024 Korea Single-Person Household Report'

It was found that young single-person households in Korea feel a greater economic burden regarding marriage compared to young single-person households in Japan. Additionally, when looking at single-person households in Korea by gender, the biggest concern for women was economic stability (26.7%), while for men, the biggest concern was loneliness (23.5%).

KB Financial Group announced on the 17th that it has published the "2024 Korea Single-Person Household Report" containing these findings.

The "2024 Korea Single-Person Household Report" is a report that closely analyzes the changes in daily life and financial life of single-person households as their proportion and influence increase.

The report is composed of three main sections: ▲Lifestyle of single-person households ▲Financial life of single-person households ▲Life satisfaction of single-person households and this year’s issues, which include ▲Preparation for independence of single-person households ▲Digital financial life of those in their 20s and 30s ▲Marriage views of young single-person households in Korea and Japan.

First, in the ▲Lifestyle of single-person households section, the reasons for starting independence were examined. More than half (53.1%) of single-person households were found to have started living independently involuntarily, and this rate has steadily increased from 39.9% in 2020 to 51.2% in 2022 and 53.1% in 2024. On the other hand, the intention to continue living alone decreased slightly from 56.3% in 2022 to 55.8% in 2024.

Also, single-person households were found to eat less than two meals (1.8 meals) on average per day. Regarding housing types, the number of single-person households living in "row houses and multi-family houses" increased, but the proportion living in "apartments" decreased by 5.5 percentage points compared to 36.2% in 2022.

In the ▲Financial life of single-person households section, the average monthly income of single-person households was 3.15 million KRW, with the largest expenditure being living expenses (40.8%, 1.28 million KRW). This is an increase compared to 2022, likely due to high inflation and high interest rates increasing the burden of living expenses and loan repayments. The savings rate of single-person households was about 30.3% of their average monthly income, the same as in the 2022 survey.

In the ▲Life satisfaction of single-person households section, 71.2% responded that they were satisfied with living alone, with satisfaction highest in the order of space/environment (77.8%), leisure activities (75.3%), human relationships (59.5%), and economic power (48.4%). The top three worries for single-person households were economic stability (22.8%), loneliness (18.1%), and health (17.0%), with concerns about economic stability increasing from 19.1% in 2022 to 22.8% in 2024.

Regarding this year’s issues, the first ▲Preparation for independence of single-person households showed that more than one-third of single-person households started living alone without sufficient preparation checks. In terms of "residential infrastructure," only 42.8% checked convenience facilities such as medical and leisure facilities around their residence. Regarding "living space," only 54.5% prepared emergency contact information for urgent situations, and in terms of "finance," only 38.5% prepared for unexpected expenses, indicating insufficient preparation.

Accordingly, KB Financial prepared and shared the "KB Financial Proposed Checklist for Preparing Living Spaces for Single-Person Households" along with this report to help single-person households prepare adequately for independence and lead stable lives.

The second issue, ▲Digital financial life of those in their 20s and 30s, categorized single-person households based on smartphone usage: those using smartphones more than 4 hours daily were labeled "Smart Intensive," and those using less than 2 hours daily were labeled "Smart Friendly." Their digital financial lives were analyzed accordingly.

"Smart Intensive" single-person households frequently managed their assets separately using dedicated household ledger apps (16.5%), financial company apps (14.7%), and fintech apps (14.5%). Compared to "Smart Friendly" single-person households, they had higher usage rates of financial sectors such as banks (3.8 percentage points higher), internet-only banks (6.9 percentage points higher), card companies (4.5 percentage points higher), and non-life insurance companies (6.1 percentage points higher).

The final issue, ▲Marriage views of young single-person households in Korea and Japan, compared the marriage perspectives of young single-person households in Korea and Japan, where the expansion of single-person households occurred earlier.

When asked about future marriage intentions, 7.2% of young single-person households in Korea and 19.4% in Japan responded that they "have no intention of ever marrying," indicating a stronger inclination toward remaining unmarried among Japanese young single-person households.

Both Korean and Japanese young single-person households considered personality, attitudes toward housework and childcare, understanding of spouse’s work characteristics, and hobbies as important criteria for choosing a spouse. Korean young single-person households placed more importance on personal factors such as appearance, education, economic power, and occupation compared to their Japanese counterparts. Regarding concerns about marriage, both Korean (73.1%) and Japanese (47.6%) young single-person households cited "preparing marriage funds" as their biggest worry.

The newly published "2024 Korea Single-Person Household Report" was based on a survey conducted over 19 days starting February 19, targeting 2,000 single-person households aged 25 to 59 who live alone and engage in independent economic activities, as well as results from focused group discussions (FGD). The report is available on the KB Financial Group Management Research Institute website.