By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The number of divorced couples with more than 20 years of marriage has increased sharply over the past few years in line with the rising economic and social status of Korean women.

Almost two out of every 10 couples who filed for divorce last year were married for over 20 years, the National Statistical Office (NSO) reported yesterday.

Divorces by married couples who had been together more than 20 years accounted for 18.3 percent of the total divorce cases in 2004, almost a four-fold rise from 4.8 percent recorded in 1981.

``Many Korean women had to stay in a marriage in the past even if they wanted to divorce because men had all the financial means. But more middle-aged married women are filing for divorce as their financial and social status have continued to improve over the years,’’ NSO official Jung Chang-shin said.

Couples married less than five years accounted for 25.2 percent of the total number of divorces last year, down from 45.9 percent in 1981, while 22.9 percent divorced after a marriage of five to nine years, down 26.6 percent 23 years ago.

The average age of male divorcees was 41.8 in 2004, up from 40.1 in 2000 and 36.3 in 1980, according to the NSO.

The average age for divorced females was 38.3 last year, up from 36.6 in 2000 and 31.1 in 1980.

The NSO also found that Korean men are most likely to divorce between 35 to 44 years of age, while many females tend to end their marriage between 30 to 39.

The number of divorce cases filed totaled 139,400 in 2004, up from 120,000 in 2000 and 23,700 in 1980, while the crude divorce rate, which is the recorded number of divorces per 1,000 persons, stood at 2.9 cases last year, up from 2.5 in 2000 and 0.6 in 1980.

The NSO said the main reason for divorce was character differences between spouses (49.4 percent), followed by economic reasons (14.7 percent) and trouble among family members (10 percent).

Meanwhile, the number of marriages stood at 310,900 cases in 2004, down from 334,000 in 2000 and 403,000 in 1980.

The crude marriage rate, which is the number of marriages per 1,000 persons, also fell to 6.4 from 7 in 2000 and 10.6 in 1980.

According to the NSO, marriages between couples wed for the first time declined 1.1 percent to 233,129 cases over a year ago, while remarrying couples rose 11.9 percent to 67,550 over the same period.

First marriages accounted for 75 percent of all marriages last year, down from 77.3 percent in 2003, while the percentage of those who have been married at least once before increased to 14.3 percent from 12.5 percent over the same period.




The average age for first marriages jumped to 30.6 years for males and 27.5 years for females, up 3.9 years and 4.9 years, respectively, from 1972.
It reflects rising individualism and shifting priorities from marriage to academic achievement and careers, the NSO said.

International marriages between Koreans and non-Koreans numbered 35,447 couples last year, up 38.2 percent from 2003.

Marriages between Korean males and Chinese females numbered 18,527 cases, the highest rate for international marriages, followed by those between Korean females and Chinese males at 3,621.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr