More and more young South Koreans opt to remain single.

Coping with modernity:  Younger generation of South Koreans are at the crossroads. (photo taken in Myeongdong on Feb 3, 2024).
May 2, 2024
By Foong Pek Yee
The streets in Songpadong in Seoul are quiet on a winter evening.
We enter a cafe packed with young people, much to our relief  we spotted an empty table for two.
Chloe , 31,  says the cafe is her favourite,  and that its roof top section commands a panoramic view of the city skyline.
That was in February this year.
It is a matter of  choice : The lifestyle of many young South Koreans today is very different from that of their parents. (photo taken in Songpadong on Feb 8, 2024) 
That evening at the cafe came to my mind recently – prompted by screaming headlines: the number of single – person households in South Korea have exceeded the 10 million mark for the first time in history!
Two million out of the 10 million single-person households are in Seoul, and Chloe is  one of them.
This is because she is single and staying on her own.
Her parents who stay together  come under the two-person household category.
According to official statistics,  the 10.02 million single – person households is  a whopping 41.8% of the 24 million households in South Korea.
The rest include  5.9 million two – person households and 3.1 million four person households.
The country’s population is 51 million.
The Korean Herald on March 17, 2024,  reported that only 50%  of South Korea’s adult population are keen to get married, quoting  findings by the presidential committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy .
For instance, Chloe loves music and travelling while her mother was already married in her mid 20s.
Many young South Koreans today have the means to live life on their own terms, and  marriage and starting a family before one turns 30 is increasingly rare.
With extended family no longer common in South Korea today, many elderly also fall into the single-person household category  when their spouse passed away.
And South Korea is set to be a super ageing society next year (2025 ); meaning those aged above 65 comprise more than 10 million and the figure is over 20% of the country’s 51 million population , reports The Korean Herald on April 23, 2024.
As time goes by: Many traders in traditional markets in Seoul are middle age or elderly people. (photo taken in Namdaemun on Feb 6, 2024)
Keeping a tradition :  Traditional Korean cakes are still a must during festive season like Seollal ( Lunar New Year) and for  ancestral prayers in South Korea.(Photo taken in Namdaemun on Feb 6, 2024)
Economic considerations, increasing life challenges and uncertainties  and choice of lifestyle are among factors that influenced South Koreans’ thinking on marriage and family.

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