800,000 Korean men facing challenges in marrying Korean women

"Among Korean men born in the 1980s and 1990s, an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 may encounter challenges in finding Korean spouses."

As concerns about Korea's declining fertility rate intensify, an American statistician has predicted that gender imbalance will emerge as a persistent social issue in Korea, attributable to the historical preference for boys.

"As a result of the gender ratio imbalance in Korea from 1980 to 2010, approximately 700,000 to 800,000 more boys were born than girls," Dudley Poston, a sociology professor at Texas A&M University, stated in an article published in the online academic journal 'Conversation.’

According to Professor Dudley, under natural conditions, the typical gender ratio at birth is 105 to 107 boys per 100 girls. In the United States, the gender ratio of newborns in 2021 was 100 to 105. In Korea, the ratio was within the normal range from 1950 to 1980, but in 1985, it increased to 100 to 110, and in 1990, the number surged to 115 boys. "Although the gender ratio returned to the normal range in 2010, the seeds of gender ratio imbalance had already sprouted by then," Professor Dudley said.

The imbalance in gender ratios was attributed to the prevailing preference for boys and low fertility rates in Korea during that period. Despite a rapid decline in the number of children born per woman from 6 in 1960 to 0.82 last year, the analysis suggests that the decreasing preference for boys has not kept up with the overall decline in fertility.

"The consequent rise in the number of single men could evolve into a persistent social issue in Korea for decades to come," Professor Dudley added.


clearlee@donga.com