[Graphic News] Less than 50% of South Koreans say marriage necessary: survey

A majority of Koreans over 13 years old regard marriage as a choice, not a necessity.

According to a survey of 39,000 people over 13 years old by Statistics Korea, 48.1 percent thought they should get married, down from 51.9 percent two years earlier and 56.8 percent in 2014.

Fifty-six percent of South Koreans answered that a couple can live together without getting married, up sharply from 48 percent in 2016 and 46.6 percent in 2014, data showed.