<Living together before marriage>
1. Introduction
“We
got married”, which is the famous TV
program in Korea, gets more popular for many years throughout Korea and even
other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and China.
This program is
showing couples which are living together virtually like married couples. The
popularity of this show suggests changing attitudes toward cohabitation before
marriage in Korea.
You can refer the video below how this program shows their virtual marriage life representing the changed attitude toward living together.
2. Description
First, you need to
know the difference between living together before marriage and real marriage.
These two are different regarding right protect by law. Living together before
marriage is exactly as same as real marriage except the protection by law.
Second, you need to consider why this culture is highly discussed in Korea. As Korea is the part of Confucian culture, the single man and woman's behavior is regulated by some standards.
3. Pros and Cons
There are some pros
and cons on cohabitation before marriage.
3.1 Pros
3.1.1 Better understanding of each other before marriage
- People can understand each mate better before marriage and
experience in advance how their marriage life would be.
3.1.2 Economical
- By living together, people can save their money spent on house and
cost of living such as electricity, food and so on.
3.1.3 Reducing divorce rates
- If they think it is not good to marry that person, they can easily
break up before engaging in marriage by law, resulting in decrease of divorce
rates.
3.1.4 Changing views and attitudes on
cohabitation
- Many couple is thinking cohabitation for some purposes, and the
attitude has changing positively. The below line graph shows the percentage
reporting “Living together before
marriage is an acceptable option.”
It shows the positively changing view to cohabitation.
3.2 Cons
3.2.1 Irresponsible
- As couple can break up easily, their attitudes toward each mate are
very irresponsible.
3.2.2 Still seen as “improper” in the heavily
Confucius-indoctrinated society
- As Korea is the part of Confucian culture, cohabitation is
considered highly improper especially by the elderly, which would be their
potential mother and father-in-law.
3.2.3 Not protected by law
- If some problem arise between two, their right to each other is not
protected by law unlike real marriage. When dividing properties, it is very hard
to divide them by law if the country does not accept the cohabitation.
3.2.4 Social problem such as abortion
- Some severe social problem such as abortion can arise because of
their irresponsible attitudes. The below chart can show the abortion rate among
the relationship status, showing cohabiting status shows the highest abortion
rate.
For further
discussion, you can refer this video.
4. Expression my opinion
[Should cohabitation before marriage recommended?]
Cohabitation is very
sensitive subject causing intense debate between pros and cons.
Many people still
think this culture is not proper in the view of Confucian. And they think this
is not moral. Though, the culture has changing, and it is time to think more
with open-mind.
4.1 My recommendation
I agree for the today’s couples to use the chance of experiencing their future marriage
life in advance.
4.2 Reasons
There are many reasons
why cohabitation is not improper and should be recommended.
4.2.1
It is more economical
than living alone. Two people can save their living cost by living together, so
they can use their money on other purposes like self-improvement, hobby and so
on.
4.2.2
They
can experience their marriage life in advance, preventing them from divorcing
and regretting. What if they found their spouse is hitting when he or she is
mad at you? They can find their potential spouse’s bad habits or good things
and they can use it for better marriage life. This short cartoon can make you
understand more easily the cohabitation as a “trial”.
4.2.3
By preventing them from
regretting their decision to choose the spouse after marriage, this can cause
divorce rates to fall. This is very good for entire society.
4.2.4
The attitudes toward
cohabitation is very favorable these days. In France, cohabitation is not
regarded improper. Many Koreans also think this is good for their entire
marriage life. This graph shows how Korean has changed their attitude toward cohabitation
before marriage.
The red line represents
negative attitudes toward cohabitation. It decreases from 59.5% to 54.1% for
two years. Also the blue line shows the positive view to cohabitation,
increasing from 40.5% to 45.9% during the same period. These two lines can support
the changing culture in Korea toward cohabitation positively.
For further information
about this topic discussed in Korea, you can refer this link.
