The gap in perceptions of marriage between genders has widened in three years, a recent survey showed.

According to research on nationwide marriage trends conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 13.3 percent of single women said “marriage is a must,” about half the rate of unmarried men, at 25.8 percent.

In the same survey conducted three years ago, the gap between women and men was 6.5 percent, with 23.4 percent of men and 16.9 percent of women calling marriage a necessity.

Although positive perceptions on the necessity of marriage declined among both sexes in three years, women showed a faster decline from 63.2 percent in 2009 to 56.7 percent last year, compared to men’s 69.8 percent down to 67.5 percent.

Both men and women said employment instability and a shortage of wedding expenses were the top reasons for avoiding or delaying marriage.

“The fading value of marriage is a key factor hindering the recovery of the low birth rate,” said Kim Seung-kwon, a senior researcher at Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.


By Park Han-na
(hnpark@heraldcorp.com)