hankyoreh

A woman gets consulting on a bank loan (by Lee Jeong-yong

Among women who have married during the past six years, 31% have shouldered some of the financial burden of renting or purchasing the couple’s first home. As housing prices have increased to the point that men cannot afford to cover them alone, the traditional idea that men should pay for housing while women should furnish the home is also changing.

staff photographer)

On July 11, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) released the results of its survey into conditions of the country‘s fertility and family health and welfare for 2015. According to the results, 26.3% of the 9,415 married women (aged 15 to 49) surveyed answered that they had contributed toward the cost of housing.

This statistic increases based on how recent the marriage was. Among women who married in 1994 or earlier, 21.4% said that they paid for housing. Among those who married between 2010 and 2015 the number rose to 30.8%. Within the same period of time, the percentage of men’s parents who contributed rose from 25.2% to 38.2%, while the percentage of women’s parents who helped out increased from 2.9% to 5.1%. Men’s financial burden remained essentially unchanged, rising from 85.2% to 86%. As housing costs skyrocket, the financial burden on women has inevitably increased, while dependence on parents is higher than in the past, as well.

In reality, the cost of acquiring housing for newlyweds has increased substantially over the past 20 years. The price of owning a home has jumped from an average 73,640,000 won (US$64,054) up until 1994 to 156,450,000 won (US$136,001) between 2010 and 2015. The average deposit required for a rental has increased from 23,390,000 won (US$20,329) to 99,500,000 won (US$86,480) during the same period. Increased housing costs for newlyweds have also resulted in a big increase in the instances of loans taken out by one member of the couple, from 8.7% to 37.4%. The size of the average loan has also increased, from 16,410,000 won (US$14,265) up until 1994 to 54,940,000 won (US$47,759) between 2010 and 2015.

The cost of housing is one of the main reasons single men avoid marriage. When 446 unmarried men aged 30 to 44 were asked why they had not yet married, 17.2% responded that they had not found a partner who met their expectations, 10.9% answered that their income was too small, 8.6% said that they had no opportunity to meet potential partners, 8.3% responded that they had not secured housing and 7.9% answered that married life was too expensive.

“While in the past, it was thought that the man alone was obligated to secure the newlywed‘s house, these days the responsibility tends to fall on the women and even their parents, as well,” Lee Sam-sik, KIHASA senior researcher, said. “As this reality is closely related to continuously rising housing costs, the financial burden of married life has a big influence on attitudes toward marriage among single people,” Lee added.

By Hwangbo Yon, staff reporter

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