Single-person households take up 34.5% of entire family units in Korea

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More than three out of 10 family units in South Korea were single-person households in 2022 as more people shy away from marriage and prefer to live alone, data showed Tuesday.

According to data released by Statistics Korea, the number of single-person households increased to 7.52 million in 2022, up by 336,000 households in a year, marking the largest increase.

Single-person households accounted for 34.5 percent of all family units last year. Their share was below 30 percent until 2005 but surpassed 30 percent for the first time in 2019.

Among those living alone, people in their 20s accounted for the largest 19.2 percent, followed by those aged 70 and over at 18.6 percent, and those in their 60s 16.7 percent.

The rise in the number of single-person households, in the meantime, is changing living patterns.

The local tech industry is targeting those living alone by offering customized services and products such as home appliances.

Statistics Korea data showed that 77.9 percent of the single-person households watch video content as part of leisure activity, 23.7 percent engage in computer games and internet browsing, and 17.2 percent engage in hobbies and self-improvement activities.

The economic conditions of single-person households, however, lagged behind the overall average.

Six out of 10 single-person households had an annual income of less than 30 million won ($22,744), and their asset size was less than half of the entire household average at 39.7 percent, according to Statistics Korea.

More than half of single-person households lived in homes under the size of 40 square meters, and only 30 percent of them owned their homes.

Data also showed that 42.6 percent of single-person households live in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, with many clustering in metropolitan areas near their workplaces.

Gyeonggi Province had the highest share of one-person households at 21.8 percent, followed by Seoul at 20.8 percent, Busan at 6.8 percent, and South Gyeongsang Province at 6.2 percent, data showed.

In Seoul, 49.6 percent of single-person households were headed by those under the age of 30. On the other hand, 52 percent of single-person households in South Jeolla Province were aged 60 or older.

There were 4.56 million employed among single-person households last year, up 204,000 over a year. However, only 34.5 percent of wage earners were satisfied with their jobs.