To select English subtitles, click on the Settings icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, click on the option labeled "subtitles/CC, and choose English.

Video Description

Type: KIHASA Policy Featurette

Topic: Cohabitation Views across the Ages as Surveyed by Statistics Korea [Source: KIHASA Special - We Choose to Live Together: Non-Marital Cohabitation in Korea]

Guest Speaker: Dr. Byoun Soo-Jung, Research Fellow, Center for Child and Family Policy Research, KIHASA

Transcript

In recent years, social acceptance of cohabitation has generally increased. According to the Statistics Korea’s Social Survey, the percentage of people who agree that "men and women can live together without getting married" increased from about 40% in 2010 to over 65% in 2022. By age group, the agreement rate is higher among those in their 30s and younger, with those in their 20s showing the highest agreement rate at over 82% and those in their 30s showing agreement at over 78%. Not only young adults, but also those in their 40s and 50s have relatively high levels of agreement at over 70% and 60% respectively. However, high levels of acceptance of cohabitation do not necessarily translate into high levels of actual cohabitation. Moreover, the same questions about cohabitation produce different responses when they are conditional, with cohabitation showing higher acceptance when conditional on marriage.