earticle

영어

This study uses qualitative data to examine the dynamics and barriers of the delayed family formation phenomenon among the never-married professionals in Korea. The data was drawn from focus groups of 14 never-married professionals aged 28 through 40. The investigation depicts several dimensions of the circumstances of never-married professionals that have not garnered much attention in the literature. This research provides initial evidence of critical influences within the socio-cultural contexts of the participants' dating behaviors as well as the willingness to marry. Two different realities, based on gender, were discovered: both male and female voluntarily delayed marriage to pursue their career, education and success. As both reached their career goals, however, male participants experienced a rise in their value as a marriage prospect whereas females experienced decreased value as a marriage prospect. Hence, neo-traditional familism was the dominant value among the participants, but it also functioned as a major barrier to family formation because in the present value system, female professionals, must still struggle with the dual burdens of work and family management.