Labour market uncertainty and the economic foundations of marriage in South Korea

Opting out or left out? The gendered determinants of marriage in South Korea

“…Although the focus of Kim's (2017) study was on employment status, the analysis also showed that education, operationalized as the highest grade completed, was negatively associated with marriage for all cohorts of women born in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Kim's (2017) findings are consistent with other studies that also reported a negative relationship between education and women's marriage probability (Lee et al, 2021;Yoo, 2016;Yoon, 2012). Park et al (2013), on the other hand, provide evidence that this pattern may be changing as the retreat from marriage is particularly pronounced among less educated women born in the 1970s compared to prior cohorts (see also Yoo, 2016).…”

“…The dramatic fertility decline has motivated a robust body of scholarship tracking the evolving impact of SES on marital outcomes among Korean men and women. Consistent with Western cases, past studies have found that different SES markers are positively associated with marriage for Korean men (Kim, 2017;Kim, 2020;Lee et al, 2021;Yoon et al, 2022). There is, however, limited consensus about how employment and education affect Korean women's marriage chances.…”

“…Kim (2017) showed that the consequences of women's regular work status on marriage evolved over time: the relationship was negative for women born in the 1950s, not significant for women born in the 1960s, and positive for women born in the 1970s. Yoon et al (2022) also found that women in regular work or white‐collar professions are more likely to marry than Korean women who are unemployed. Other studies, however, have not been able to replicate these results: Park et al (2005), Yoon (2012), Park et al (2013), and Kim (2020) all found that working women across cohorts were significantly less likely to marry than women who were not employed, whereas Oh and Lim (2016) did not find any association between women's employment and the likelihood of marriage.…”

“…Given the evolving impact of employment, income, and education on marriage patterns, we also want to build on and extend past studies of marriage decline in Korea that utilized KLIPS panel data, including Park et al's (2005) study that followed individuals until 2002 (wave 5), Kim's (2017) analysis that tracked respondents until 2012 (wave 15), and Yoon et al's (2022) sample that included observations until 2014 (wave 17). Extending the analysis to the most recent survey wave (2020) allows us to more fully incorporate the current generation of young to middle-age Korean adults who are struggling to secure work and form families in today's economy.…”

Explaining the child poverty outcomes of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

“…Those who are more likely to form and maintain couple families with children may be economically more secure (Brown, 2010). In Korea, young male adults with secure jobs are more likely to get married (Yoon, 2012). This marital selection is more important in Korea because alternative routes to family formation such as cohabitation and non-marital births have not been socially accepted.…”