Marriage is a highly symbolic institution or ceremony that has legally binding effects, and it has the very important role of forming families. Not so long ago, people who did not get married in Korea were not treated as properly equal people. Nowadays, however, many think that marriage is not a family-to-family system, but a process of individuals meeting individuals. That fundamentally changed the perception of marriage.

  According to data from Statistics Korea, the early marriage rate has been on the decline since 2010. The crude marriage rate is an indicator of the percentage of marriages per 1,000 people per year. The drop in the crude marriage rate means more people in their 20s and 30s prefer non-marriage or being single, and more people live together without filing legal documents.
  Our attitude toward divorce has changed a lot. Divorce is not wrong, but it is not something that should be taken lightly. Nowadays, however, divorce is often portrayed nonchalantly on many TV programs and internet platforms. I think these things also had a huge influence on the changing perception of marriage. There are also new expressions such as ‘graduate from marriage’ and ‘twilight divorce’. ‘Graduate from marriage’ is a form of marriage where couples are not legally divorced but do not interfere with each other’s privacy, and twilight divorce refers to the divorce of elderly couples in their twilight years, i.e., 60s or older.

  A growing number of individuals from younger generations are taking such phenomena lightly in areas where they should not be taken lightly. While the Statistics Korea data released in 2018 showed that the number of respondents who said “They should not divorce” decreased, the floating position of ‘may or may not’ is on the rise. In 1998, 60.3 percent of the respondents said they should not divorce for any reason, however, in 2018, only 33.2 percent of respondents answered negatively, and 46.3 percent of respondents said they may or may not divorce. As stated before, divorce is not wrong, but caution, instead of casual jokes, will help change perception when dealing with such topics.

  The world is increasingly moving toward recognizing diversity and bringing together people from various backgrounds. It is right to respect everyone’s opinions, but I don’t think it’s right to force people to think lightly of the problem of marriage, which many regard as the very fabric of society. If the relationship collapses and the trust is lost, it should never be as a consequence of respect of diversity.

  Many things from the past are changing. Many people are changing the vary way they think, but there are some things that should never change. Students at CBNU hope that marriage, which will be a significant choice in their lives, can be contemplated soberly and decided carefully.