Single-person households could account for 40.1 percent in 2037

Every two to three years, Statistics Korea forecasts the size of households and the number of people living in them over the next 30 years, and in the latest projection, the accelerated growth of single-person households is particularly striking. Single-person households are expected to account for 40.1 percent of all households in 2037. In just 13 years, a single person will occupy two out of every five homes. In a survey two years ago, the proportion of single-person households was not expected to exceed 40 percent in 2050.

Four years ago, the government came up with a mid-to-long-term plan to respond to the rise of single-person households. At the time, the government explained, "Despite the rapid changes in household structure, household-related policies of the past, such as housing and welfare, have remained centered on four-person households.” The countermeasures included revitalizing shared housing, enhancing safety for female-headed households, and efforts to prevent lonely deaths for elderly single-person households. However, more people ask, “When did the government introduce such policies?”

At that time, the mid-to-long-term response plan included ‘fostering new industries for single-person households.’ The government decided to expand support for the convenience food industry and provide consulting services such as menu development for single-person households. Although the effectiveness of the policy is unknown, companies are responding quickly to the shrinking society clock. Smaller portions and packaged products for single-person households are now readily available in hypermarkets, and a wide variety of single-person kitchen appliances have been introduced.

The growing number of people living alone is another aspect of an aging society. With many seniors living separately from their children, single-person households are increasing, especially among the elderly. According to future household projections, households with a single person aged 65 and over are expected to increase 2.6 fold within the next 30 years. By 2052, the largest proportion of single-person homes will be households with a member aged 80 and over. In last year's family survey, respondents aged 70 and over ranked ‘lifecycle support for single-person households’ as the second most important family support service they needed.

With a declining birthrate so severe that the nation is worried about its very extinction, response to single-person households could be considered less of a priority. To create an environment where more children can be born, it is inevitable that policies will favor households with two or more people. However, everyone has to live alone at some point in their lives, which has also become an imminent reality amid an aging population. We must fill in the gaps in the empty slogan ‘response to a shrinking society.’ It will not be long before the ‘skeleton centered on the four-person household” and reality ends up colliding to create a cacophony.