By Kim Sung-jin
Staff Reporter

More than half of all citizens 60 years old and older in South Korea are disinclined to live under the same roof with their children after retirement and the majority of Korean parents feel burdened by their children’s education expenses.

These findings were revealed in a survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The agency polled roughly 70,000 people aged over 15 last June.

The survey showed that 52.5 percent of people aged 60 and older said that they do not want to live with their children after retirement, while the remaining 47.5 percent said they want to live together with them.

The relatively low percentage of elderly citizens willing to live with their children reflects a change in Korea’s traditional Confucian culture, where the idea of parents spending their late years with their children is valued.

The survey of 33,000 households showed that 40.9 percent of those 60 years old and older are living with their children. The dependence of elderly citizens on their children was higher in urban areas than in rural villages.

Of the elderly citizens who live separately from their children, the largest share of 38.3 percent cited convenience as the reason for their independence, 20.3 percent their sufficient financial assets for self-reliance and 16 percent the fear of being a burden to their children.

Meanwhile, the survey also showed that 57.7 percent of Korean parents said education costs are the biggest burden in raising children.

Twenty-three percent of parents also complained that their communities lack day-care centers, 9.1 percent said there is an absence of facilities or experts to help in raising children and 8.5 percent said cooperative efforts by husbands were unsatisfactory.

In particular, 75.2 percent of the respondents said day-care facilities are too costly with respect to their monthly income. Of the households surveyed, 43.4 percent called on the government to increase financial support for raising children, 21.5 percent improvement in the quality of day-nursery services and 14.7 percent expansion of day-care facilities.

The survey also revealed that 74.6 percent of Koreans feel society still seriously discriminates against the physically disabled.

Ironically, 89.1 percent of the respondents said they do not discriminate against the physically challenged and 47 percent said they would be displeased about a facility for the disabled to be built near their homes, although 53 percent said they would not be offended by the construction of such facilities in their towns.

sjkim@koreatimes.co.kr