Almost half of South Koreans are reportedly living alone at the start of 2024.
In December of 2023, government data revealed the percentage of single-person households in the country is at an all-time high at 42%. The number of single-person households went from 9.72 million to 9.93 million according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, which means that in the span of 1 year the amount of single-person households increased by 211,344.
The Ministry revealed the increase is due to more and more unmarried and older people living alone with 21.8% of all senior citizens living by themselves. The government data is further based on one's address, which means families of 2 who live separately are considered 2 separate single-person households. This would apply to "weekend couples" who live apart because of work or other circumstances.
The same data also reveals Korean family sizes are decreasing with the average number of people in a household shrinking from 2.17 in 2022 to 2.15 in 2023.
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living alone has 2 sides. i have been living alone for a year now and this will be my life pretty much for the rest of my life (unless something major happens of course). on one hand it's great because i have my own space, i can do whatever i want whenever i want without having to consider others. on the other hand it's so incredibly lonely, which is really a downside. everything falls on my shoulders, there is nobody to share burdens with and that is really tough. sometimes it's not even about sharing the responsibilities but more about having someone to talk to, someone who is there to give you a hug when times are tough. I do really miss living with my family. I think the rise in loneliness will become an even bigger issue in the near future and I'm not sure how i feel about all of this. i personally have quite a lot of difficulties mentally living alone.
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