Almost 50% of single South Koreans in 30s, 40s live with parents–study

By: 2 years ago

This photo shows an apartment complex from Namsan, central Seoul on Oct. 9. (Yonhap via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)

SEOUL — Nearly half of unmarried South Koreans in their 30s and 40s were living with their parents, according to a study released last week.

According to a report released by the state-run think tank Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 49.7 percent of those in their 30s and 48.8 percent of those in their 40s who are not married were living with their parents.

In both age groups, women showed a higher rate of living with their parents. Some 54.5 percent of women in their 30s and 50.6 percent in their 40s were living with their parents, while 47.6 percent of men in their 30s and 48.1 percent in their 40s lived with their parents.

Some 30 percent of adults aged between 19 and 49 were living with their parents. When narrowing the group down to those who were unmarried, the figure stood at 62.4 percent.

“The rate of those in their 30s and 40s who are living with their parents is high, as co-living for adults is focused on marriage in Korea,” Choi Seon-yeong, who conducted the study, said.

While 36.4 percent of adults between 19 and 49 said marriage was the motivation for residential independence, 28.2 percent and 20.9 percent said school and work were the reasons, respectively.

The report showed that economic status also affected residential independence.

According to the report, adults with a higher income were more likely to live independently. Their parents’ economic status also affected their residential independence.

“The reason for the higher rate of residential independence in more economically established groups is because they tend to think that going independent as adults by leaving their parents’ residence is something desirable,” Choi said.

The study was conducted on 14,000 adults aged between 19 and 49 between September to December 2021. The results were first introduced at the 28th Population Forum held on Thursday.