Trends and Implications of Delayed and Non-Marriage in Korea

Korea has experienced marital transition since the 1920s, but recent data reveal rapid changes in marital behaviour and norms. Analysts usually relate these to the second fertility transition, fast growing gender equality, economic developments, and ideational changes, pointing to the necessity of understanding the process of change in marital behaviour in the context of societal transformation as well as demographic transition. With this background in mind, this paper constructs refined measures, such as age-specific first marriage rates and total first marriage rates, for different time periods and for different cohorts to present a clearer picture of marriage trends. The results are then examined in relation to various social and demographic factors, a procedure which provides an indirect check on the validity and usefulness of the method.