Women reluctant to support spouses when growing old

Longevity may be the start of conflict for elderly married couples, as seven out of 10 women are afraid of having to take care of their husbands for too long, a survey showed.

According to a research by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs of 3,000 people aged 20 or older, a whopping 71.9 percent of female respondents said a longer life span would trigger friction between elderly husband and wife. They said women will have to take care of their husbands for a longer period of time. On the same question, 66.4 percent of males agreed.

Younger people in their 20s and 30s reacted differently toward the proposition than those aged 40 or older.

This difference likely stems from the fact that older generations follow the Korean tradition that wives take care of their husbands, the institute said. The younger demographic, on the other hand, has a stronger tendency to pursue gender equality and resist the idea of women having to take care of their husbands, the report said.

Meanwhile, 77 percent of the respondents said longevity could cause friction within the family over whether children should support their elderly parents and if so, which children should support them. As a nuclear family with one or two children is common these days, the burden of financial support for the parents could be perceived as heavier compared to past extended families, the institute said.

Also, 83.6 percent forecast that the elderly generation and youth may collide over different perceptions of culture and social issues.

The government’s failure to provide the elderly population with jobs to make money may cause some trouble in the future, experts have said. Some 63.9 percent said that parents’ tendency to delay wealth inheritance to children because they have to live longer could also ignite family conflicts.

The respondents expressed concerns over multicultural families. About 75.5 percent said they were worried whether domestic conflicts would arise within such families and develop into a social issue since more Koreans are marrying non-Koreans.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)