In Korea, the level of education appears to greatly affect people’s chances of getting married. A report showed Wednesday that higher educated men are likely to marry more easily while well-educated women have lower chances to wed.

Lee Sang-lim, a researcher at Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, studied the impacts of various factors on marriage of Koreans aged between 24 and 29, based on data compiled by the Korea Labor Panel from 2001-2009.

The study took into account factors such as age, education, height, job, income, working hours and their parents’ education.

According to the research, it was found that Korean men have lower chances for marriage when they do not hold university degrees, live with their parents and work less than legal working hours. On the other hand, for those who are tall, have a permanent job and earn a high income, getting married was easier.

It is noteworthy that the education level of men’s parents and whether they own a house also played a vital role in determining Korean men’s chance for marriage, implying that parents’ financial resources are taken into consideration when women choose their husbands.

The research suggested different findings for women, however. For Korean women, their age was the most decisive factor in the possibility of marriage. Women were most likely to get married in their late twenties, while men’s age did not influence the possibility of marriage.

For women, the more educated, the less likely they are to wed. Well-educated women stand a far lower chance of getting married than women who only accomplish a high school education.

In addition, women with a regular job have a higher possibility of getting married, but the type of employment was not as important as it was for men. Unlike men, the fewer hours a woman works, the more likely to wed, the study showed. 

By Ock Hyun-ju, Intern reporter (laeticia.ock@heraldcopr.com)