South Korean parents spend an average of 130 million won ($111,618) on their children’s marriages, using more than half of their retirement savings, a report showed Thursday.

According to the survey by Samsung Life Retirement Research Center on 1,501 parents with an average of 2.2 children, they spent 125.1 million won in marriage expenses.

The amount was double for those with sons who spend on average of 94 million won, while it was 42 million for daughters.

Most, or 93 percent, used their savings, while 11 percent also utilized their severance pay, canceled their private pensions or insurance (5 percent) or sold their houses (5 percent). Multiple answers were allowed. Marriage expenses in Korea usually include money for housing and other fixtures for the newlyweds, wedding ceremony, honeymoon and various gifts for the in-laws.

Nearly 12 percent also said they took out a loan to pay for the wedding. Some 23 percent of the surveyed parents whose children were not yet married also said they were willing to get a loan to support their children.

Such spending accounted for 55 percent of the retirement funds the parents had accumulated, the report said. Some 75 percent of the parents whose children are all married said the cost of supporting the weddings put a strain on their retirement life.

The report also showed that parents were more conservative toward the concept and method of marriage and weddings. Among the parents, 67 percent viewed it as a “marriage of the two families,” and 71 percent said their children getting married was a task for the parents to accomplish.

While 56 percent of the parents said they accepted their responsibility of supporting the wedding, only 28 percent of the children agreed.

Some 30 percent of the parents also believed that the newlywed’s house must be provided by the groom and furniture by the bride, as is customarily done in Korea. Only 14 percent of the children said they wanted to stick to such traditions.

While 30 percent of the parents also thought that gifts for the in-laws should be of a certain quality, only 16 percent of the children saw it as necessary.

“As parents in their 50s and 60s at present are expected to have two or threefold longer years of their retirement (due to prolonged life expectancy) from the past, they should be more cautious in planning their support for the weddings of their children,” the report said. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)