Not only has children's sense of responsibility for their aging parents weakened over the years, but parents' views of their duties toward their sons and daughters have also become lighter, a report released Friday said.
A key change, according to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, was that fewer parents believe they have to take care of their children until they get married. In a 2003 survey, 32.1 percent of the parents surveyed said their responsibility continues until marriage, but the number fell to 27 percent in 2006, 23.1 percent in 2009 and to 20.4 percent in 2012.
In 2003, 6.3 percent of parents said they will continue to look after their children after marriage if necessary. That number dropped to 4.6 percent in 2012.
The new standard for parents was that their duty ends when children graduate from college. While 40.2 percent said so in 2003, a larger 49.6 percent gave the answer in 2012.
A separate report by the institute earlier this week showed 31.7 percent of children felt they have to support their aging parents, a staggering drop from 89.9 percent in 1998.
The report on parental duty was based on a family life survey held by the institute every three years.
In another poll by the institute in the August-September period last year, the results showed the overall thinking on parental responsibility was not all that rigid.
The poll was conducted on 1,000 South Koreans (510 men, 490 women) by telephone, asking them to rate four factors related to parents caring for their children between one and five. A higher number meant stronger parental responsibility.
The average rating was 2.94 on whether parents needed to financially support children until they got a job. As to monetary help for marriage, the rating was 2.6. A close 2.59 rating was given for assistance in getting a home after marriage, and 2.22 for parental help in raising grandchildren. (Yonhap)
