Who Lives Alone in South Korea? Trends Over the Last Four Decades (1980-2020)

The share of the South Korean population living alone has substantially increased over the last four decades, sparking public concerns about loneness and its broader effects on individuals and society. In this talk Dr. Hyunjoon Park analyzes trends in living alone in Korea from 1980 to 2020. Analyses show a divergence in solo living between those with more and less education in both younger and older age groups but in oppositive directions. Among young men and women aged 25-34, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher are increasingly more likely to live alone than their peers with a high school education or less. In contrast, among older adults aged 65-74, individuals with the lowest level of education are increasingly more likely to live alone. Dr. Park discusses the implications of solo living trends for family dynamics and inequality in Korea.

Speaker: Hyunjoon Park, Korea Foundation Professor of Sociology and and Director of the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies, University of Pennsylvania