| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SEOUL: The family structure in South Korea has changed dramatically since the late 1990s. Being a Confucian society, it was not easy to find people who would admit to being single-mothers or divorcees.
But these days, all that has changed. In fact, the number of people living alone is on the rise.
Im Hyun Joo, who is in her early 40s, is single and living alone in Seoul.
"The best thing about being alone is that I can make time for hobbies I enjoy, take up studying if I want to, and really invest time in the things I want to do for myself," she said.
Like her, more South Koreans are choosing to live alone. The reasons vary, but majority of singles say it is because they just do not see the need to get married.
42-year-old Kim Kang Ja said: "Many people have asked me why I live like this when I could be happy by being married and having children. But I feel uncomfortable when I imagine having to live with some other person, and have that person inquiring about everything I do."
Statistics have shown that in 20 years, a family with only one member – or at the most two – will account for about half of Korean households.
The notion that a family is a four-member household, with parents and two children, is no longer true – a fact that the Korean society has yet to accept.
Park Young Sook, head of Millennium Project, said: "We have to start realising that the family structure is changing, only then can we become a society that will embrace these various family structures."
Some companies, restaurants and apartments have come up with marketing ideas to accommodate the rising number of singles in South Korea. But these firms are few and far between.
It is likely to take a while for South Koreans to accept the fact that getting married and having children is no longer the norm.
- CNA/so
|
