Caring for Aging Parents a Shared Responsibility of Family, Government, and Society...Middle-Aged Attitudes Shift

Over the past decade, it has been observed that the middle-aged population has grown more firm in the belief that the responsibility of supporting aging parents should not rest solely on the family, but should also be shared by the government and society. Although desires to go on trips or enjoy hobbies and self-development activities during weekends have increased, in reality, watching video content remains the predominant leisure activity.

On September 21, the Ministry of Data and Statistics published the results of a social survey examining changes in awareness among people aged 40 to 64 over the past ten years from multiple perspectives. This analysis was compiled based on shifts in perception among the middle-aged between 2014 and 2024, as well as between 2015 and 2025.

Yonhap News

The proportion of middle-aged individuals who answered that 'families, the government, and society together' should bear the responsibility of supporting parents rose from 49.0% to 65.0%, an increase of 15.9 percentage points over the past decade.

Conversely, responses limiting the responsibility to 'family' declined from 29.8% to 16.7%, a decrease of 13.2 percentage points, and those stating 'parents should take care of themselves' also fell from 16.7% to 13.4%, a drop of 3.3 percentage points.

Shifts in perspective among the middle-aged were also apparent in their views on the social role in supporting post-retirement life. As of last year, the highest demand was for retirement income support (34.4%), followed by medical and nursing care services (30.3%) and support for employment in retirement (25.6%). In particular, the demand for medical and nursing care services increased by 11.4 percentage points, from 18.9% to 30.3%, marking the largest rise among all surveyed categories.

The proportion of individuals who are either in the process of preparing for retirement or have already done so increased from 75.8% to 81.9%, a rise of 6.1 percentage points. The share who cited the national pension as their main tool for retirement preparation rose by 9.3 percentage points, from 51.7% to 61.0%; meanwhile, reliance on private pensions fell from 11.7% to 5.4%, and the use of deposits, savings accounts, or savings insurance decreased from 19.9% to 14.7%.

The proportion of people expressing a preference for cremation as their chosen funeral method increased from 89.3% to 95.5%, a rise of 6.2 percentage points.

Job insecurity has eased somewhat…Yet more than half remain anxious

While the proportion of employed middle-aged individuals who feel job insecurity has declined, the data shows that over half still do not feel secure in their employment. The percentage who reported anxiety over unemployment or job changes decreased from 61.0% to 55.8%, a reduction of 5.2 percentage points. By age group, as of last year, those in their 40s exhibited the highest level of job insecurity at 57.4%.

The proportion of respondents whose household income increased compared to a year earlier grew from 17.7% a decade ago to 23.8%, an increase of 6.0 percentage points. The share of households with growing debt fell from 26.6% to 22.6%, a reduction of 4.0 percentage points.

The percentage of individuals reporting a burden from children’s education expenses improved from 70.6% to 62.6%, a reduction of 8.0 percentage points. As of 2024, those in their 40s overwhelmingly selected ‘educational expenses other than school tuition’ (86.9%) as the most burdensome education-related cost. Those in their 50s cited ‘educational expenses other than school tuition’ (53.5%) and ‘school tuition’ (36.2%), while ages 60 to 64 felt the greatest burden regarding ‘school tuition’ (61.4%). These results suggest that the cost items causing the most financial pressure shift around the time their children enter college.

Recognition of "equal sharing of housework" at 64.4%…actual practice lags behind at 22.1%

Although awareness that married couples should share housework equally has significantly strengthened, a gap remains between attitudes and actual behavior. The proportion of middle-aged individuals who believe ‘housework should be shared equally by spouses’ surged from 37.9% to 64.4%, an increase of 26.5 percentage points. Although the percentage who said they actually share housework equally also rose from 14.2% to 22.1%, this was not enough to keep pace with changing attitudes.

The tendency to prioritize work has weakened. The proportion who answered ‘work is the first priority’ declined from 54.1% to 35.0%, a decrease of 19.1 percentage points. In contrast, those who value ‘work-life balance’ increased from 35.5% to 47.6%, up 12.1 percentage points.

Overall satisfaction with family relationships climbed from 48.6% to 59.9%, up by 11.3 percentage points. As of 2024, men reported the highest satisfaction with their relationship with their spouses (80.1%), whereas women were most satisfied with their relationship with their children (79.1%). Men also reported high satisfaction with their children (78.4%), demonstrating minimal gender differences in this respect, but women’s satisfaction with their spouses remained lower at 69.0%.

Responses of "high stress" drop dramatically from 70.1% to 42.6%

Over the last decade, the proportion of middle-aged individuals who assessed their health as ‘good’ increased from 42.6% to 50.2%, a rise of 7.6 percentage points. Those who reported feeling stressed in daily life dropped sharply from 70.1% to 42.6%, a decrease of 27.5 percentage points. In terms of health management behaviors, rates of regular health checkups rose from 71.7% to 90.5%, up 18.8 percentage points, and ‘regular exercise’ increased from 38.6% to 46.8%, up 8.2 percentage points. However, the proportion who reported eating breakfast consistently fell from 76.7% to 64.6%.

As for desired weekend leisure activities, as of last year, ‘travel/tourism’ (71.1%), ‘hobbies/self-development’ (45.7%), ‘cultural and artistic events’ (34.8%), and ‘rest/relaxation’ (33.6%) topped the list. Nevertheless, actual weekends were still most commonly spent watching video content, retaining first place as in a decade earlier (71.4% in 2015; 73.9% in 2025). ‘Rest/relaxation’ also rose from 54.0% to 73.9%, up by 19.9 percentage points, tying with video content viewing for the top spot. Overall satisfaction with leisure activities improved from 23.9% to 38.9%, a gain of 15.0 percentage points.

An Hyeongjun, Commissioner of the Ministry of Data and Statistics, stated, "The middle-aged are a pivotal generation experiencing transitions in family, work, health, and retirement. We will continue conducting social surveys to closely examine changes in people’s lives and perceptions, and to steadily provide statistical data that aids in developing lifecycle-based policies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.