Although the traditional idea of son preference is still the mainstream of Korean society, with the changes of economic, social and cultural conditions in life, many Koreans' views on family life are gradually changing, especially the status of men and women in the family.
The results of a survey jointly conducted by Samsung Economic Research Institute and Institute of Social Development of Seoul National University show that, compared with the results of a similar survey conducted in 1996, Koreans pay more and more attention to family and marriage, and their preference for sons is decreasing.
On the other hand, the divorce rate in Korea is increasing day by day, and the fertility rate is declining.
There is a view in the questionnaire that "marriage is an essential element of a happy and satisfactory life", and the proportion of respondents who agree has increased from 14.9% in 1996 to 21.3%. Those who disagreed with this view decreased from 1.7% in 1996 to 2.6%.
Another point of the questionnaire is that "although our marriage relationship is bad, we still live together for the sake of our children". Only 24.8% of the respondents agreed with this view, down from 32.1% in 1996.
At present, Koreans attach more importance to the relationship between husband and wife than the relationship between parents and children, which also highlights the trend of Koreans turning to individualism.
Although Koreans pay more attention to the relationship between husband and wife now, last year, 47.4 out of every 1 married couples divorced, and 11.6% of the brides and grooms remarried.
Yin Yuxi considers herself conservative. She thinks that the divorce rate is so high because this generation of young people are spoiled by the previous generation.
She said, "Parents give their children too much material comforts, which makes them selfish. When a man and a woman are married, they should learn to give up themselves and live for others. The younger generation is less patient. If our generation encounters a quarrel between husband and wife, we will wait patiently for mutual understanding. "
Li Yonghuan, a 36-year-old researcher at Yonsei University, said that in reality, marriage is no longer a guarantee of happiness. Still single, he said, "As far as I know, few people are satisfied with their marriage. I think modern people can find happiness in different ways. Even if you don't get married, you can do other things to make yourself happy."
He thinks that modern Koreans are brave enough to get married, so it is easy to combine impulsively without fully understanding each other, and the marriage will eventually fail.
Another reason is that women are aware of their rights and interests. If the husband fails to adapt to this ideological change of his wife, friction will appear and eventually lead to divorce.