결혼 안 해도…'동거 가능' 60%, '아이 가질 수 있다' 31%<br /><br />Growing number of South Koreans are thinking that marriage might not be for everyone.<br />According to a wide-ranging social survey by Statistics Korea, six in ten people feel that it's okay for couples to live together when they're not married.<br />And three in ten feel that it's okay for them to have kids.<br />Kim Jae-hee has the details.<br />More South Koreans are becoming open to the idea of unmarried couples living together, and unmarried people having kids.<br />This is according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, of a survey of some 38-thousand people aged 13 or older, carried out from May 13th to 28th this year.<br />These two views have been getting steadily more popular since 2012.<br />Less than 46 percent replied that unmarried couples can live together in 2012, but the percentage rose to almost 60 in 2020.<br />Only around 22 percent said people can have kids without getting married in 2012, but by 2020, the figure rose to near 31 percent.<br />Meanwhile, the report also showed one out of three of those surveyed believed the biggest source of anxiety in society is 'new disease'.<br />Almost 33 percent of people surveyed picked 'new disease' as the biggest cause of anxiety, more than eleven times the 2-point-9 percent in 2018.<br />The next biggest anxieties were economic risks with nearly 15 percent, crime with around 13 percent, and national security with more than 11 percent.<br />Findings also showed that 4 out of 10 South Koreans studied using online media over the past year.<br />And more than 9 out of 10 teenagers had studied online.<br />"The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on teenagers' high percentage of online learning as they began online classes in April."<br />The data also showed 5-point-2 percent of those surveyed have thought of committing suicide at least once in the past year, up point-1 percentage points from two years earlier.<br />Economic difficulties were the most common reason for suicidal thoughts.<br />When it comes to the environment, fine dust is a major issue, with 3 out of 4 people worried about it.<br />Almost 48 percent of people were worried about radiation, 46 percent were worried about harmful chemicals, and around 45 percent about climate change.<br />Over half of the people surveyed were happy to pay more to protect the environment.<br />Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.<br />
