SEOUL – South Korean men in the top quintile are far more likely to marry and have children than their lower-income earners, according to data released on Sunday.
Data from the Korea Labor Institute (KLI), which analyzed labor force and fertility trends, showed that low-income South Korean men were more likely to remain unmarried and childless until their mid-40s.
The findings come from a study conducted between 2017 and 2019 that excluded COVID-19-related variables affecting relationship status.
About 30% of men in the top 10% of earners said they were married or living with a partner. Only 8% of men in the bottom 10% of income brackets are married or in a relationship.
About 76% of high-income men aged 31 to 35 are married or have a partner, compared to only 31% of low-income men.
Among high-income men aged 36 to 40, 91% were married, compared with just 10% of low-income men.
Similarly, nearly all high-income men aged 41 to 45 are or are currently married. Only half of the lowest-income men in this age group have ever been married.
About 98 percent of men aged 46 to 50 are married or have been married. However, the odds were higher among low-income people in this age group, with 76% saying they had finally found a wife or partner.
According to the report, low-income people are choosing to live in single-person households for economic reasons.
“Men’s average economic gain is higher than before, and the marriage rate is also rising. We hope that the results of this study will help solve the problem of the declining birthrate,” said KLI Associate Researcher Kwak Eun-hye. said Mr.Korea Herald/Asia News Network
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/poor-men-in-s-korea-likely-single-and-childless-as-those-with-money-get-to-have-it-all Poor Korean men are more likely to be single and childless because those with money can have everything