Seonyi Kim (201322025)

Cause and Effect Essay

Vincent Gilhooley
2016.11.24
You Shouldnt Say I DO without Living Together First
In Korea, one of the most serious social issues is low marriage rate. According to
the consensus data from OECD (2015), declining rates of marriage is accompanied by
increases in crude divorce rate. Although cohabitation before marriage is popular in
many of western countries, it is seen as moral taboo in Korea. However, concept of
marriage is changing easpecially among younger generation. The recent statistics
conducted by Korean Social Research Institution shows that one out of every two people
in Korea agrees on cohabitation before marriage. (Kwak, 2016) There are clear significant
reasons as to why cohabitation before marriage makes better married life.

To begin with, unmarried couples can learn about each other better by living
together before marriage. Living together before marriage can be taken as the ultimate
test and it is often called a trial marriage. Mi-jung who got married after living together
for one year with her current husband said that cohabitation gave her a chance to
prepare for a successful marriage. (Kim, 2011) Many married couples decide to get
divorced because of the difference in their personalities. By moving in with a beloved
one, couples gain much greater time to communicate each other and picture their future
marriage life together. A psychotherapist says that movies have considerable influence
over the peoples expectations for their relationships. (Feiles, 2013) The way that ideal
type of romantic relationships, depicted in the movies, generates and reinforces social
standards; what your marriage life should look like. Therefore, knowing that living
together is not always going to be fun makes you shape a better marriage life. It is
important to learn how to balance partners priorities and values before putting marriage
on the table.

Premarital cohabitation is a financial boon for unmarried couples. It is not only

about the money, but also about saving time and effort by moving in with their lovers. It
is costly for newly married couples to prepare for their formal wedding in Korea. Why
would you have two apartments while you already spend most time together? Unmarried
couples who do not have enough money can save their living expenses and collect
money for an official marriage. Sharing home means less rent check, shared utilities, and
groceries. Also living together enables long distance couples to save more time and
money spent on their travelling to each other. Also, unmarried couples in Korea often
delay their marriage because they want to be financially secured, have a stable job, and
finish education. This process is fraught with conflict between some couples and the
number of them split as a result. However, cohabitation is the best way to avoid this
problem as it gives an idea of how to set up home, pay for their living, manage and
distribute the income.

Moving in with ones significant other based on love is personal privacy and
freedom. The Constitutional Law (1987) clearly states the right to pursue individual
happiness and freedom. Some may argue that premarital cohabitation is immoral since it
takes as the contrary to the moral traditions of certain individuals, cultures and religions.
However, ones choices and values need to be respected relatively. A society which
cohabitation is forced is not right but prohibiting cohabitation is also undesirable. This is
backed up by the fact that adultery law in Korea is no longer is in effect since the state
should not intervene in ones private life. Thus living together prior to a marriage is
necessary procedure for young people to provide an opportunity to figure out if the
partner is suitable for their lifetime.

As stated above paragraphs, it is better off living together before marriage for

the sake of unmarried couples happy and successful marriage. Hanna (1981) states that
cohabiters judged their marriages as more successful than the non-cohabiters and
perceived higher support of individuals surroundings. Premarital cohabitation ensures
day to day compatibility. Also it provides economic benefits concerning money, time and
effort. Finally, it is ones will to relish their satisfactory marriage life after all.

Works Cited
Feiles, Nathan. Movies versus Your Relationships.

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships-balance/2013/02/18/movies-versus-your-relationships/.
Psych Central. Web. 22 Nov. 2016
Hanna, S.L. & Knaub, P.K. Cohabitation before remarriage. Alternative Lifestyles. Volume 4.
Issue 4 (1981): pp 507-522. Springer Link. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Kim, T.J. More couples favorable to living together before marriage.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/08/117_87211.html. The Kore Times. 18

May. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2016
Kwak, D.H. Half of the people pro for premarital cohabitation48% answers to not to Marry.

http://www.etoday.co.kr/news/section/newsview.php?idxno=1413279. E-today. 15 Nov. 2016. Web.

23 Nov. 2016.
Ministry of Government Legislation. Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Laws on Green

Growth, and Economic Investment in Korea. No. 10. (1987): 45. Chapter 2 Rights and Duties of
Citizens. Web. 17 Nov. 2016
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD Family Database.

http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm. Marriage and divorce rates. Families and children. 25

Aug. 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.