hankyoreh

Seventy-three percent of unmarried South Korean women said they would “seriously consider it” if their boyfriend asked them to quit their job after they marry, a recent study shows.

The marriage information service Duo released results recently from a questionnaire on post-marriage working life administered to 300 working women in their twenties and thirties between Nov. 4 and 14.

The most commonly cited reason for considering the request was “gratitude for the consideration in lightening [the woman’s] load,” cited by 48.3% of respondents. Another 24.7% said that such a man “would probably be comfortable economically.”

Others said they thought such a request would be “patriarchal or old-fashioned” (14%) or said they would feel “slighted and upset” (12%).

More than half the unmarried respondents expressed doubts about continuing their current career after marriage. As a result, 72.7% of all participants said they would make a decision about whether and how much to work at some future point when faced with the question of work and home life balance. Just 18% of respondents said they thought they “could continue” their current working life after marriage and childbirth, while seven percent said it would be “absolutely impossible.”

By Lee Jeong-hoon, staff reporter

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