In Their 40s, Are People Trimming Their Social Circles Too? ... 8 in 10: "It's More Comfortable to Keep My Distance from Everyone but a Few Friends"

82% of People in Their 40s Say a Few Close Friends Are Enough for a 'Successful Life'
Relationships Are Narrowing, but 38% of Koreans Say They "Feel Lonely"

More people are choosing to focus on a few like-minded friends rather than making many new ones, and are decisively ending relationships that cause them stress. This trend was especially pronounced among people in their 40s. Analysts say that so-called "selective relationships" are becoming more common: rather than cutting off relationships altogether, people are forming deep connections with a small number of people they choose.

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81% of People in Their 40s Say They Have Ended Draining Relationships

According to the "2026 Survey on Perceptions of Human Relationships and Dating" conducted by market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor on 1,000 men and women aged 19 to 59 nationwide, only 20.0% agreed that "the more friends, the better." The figure has steadily declined from 27.8% in 2023 and 26.2% in 2025. By contrast, 82.2% agreed that "having just a few close friends is enough to lead a successful life."

People's relationships are also increasingly becoming "narrower but deeper." A total of 80.1% of respondents (multiple responses allowed) said they focus on a core group of around three to five people, such as close friends, partners, and colleagues. Just 18.6% said they maintained relationships with 20 or more acquaintances, while 5.5% said they kept a broad network of 100 or more people. Only 3.4% said they focused on meeting new people.

There was also a clear trend toward valuing time alone over time spent on relationships. Overall, 59.4% of respondents said, "I would like to spend more time on my own than meeting and socializing with others." The figure was particularly high among people in their 40s, at 64.0%. A total of 76.8% said they had ended or distanced themselves from relationships with people who caused them fatigue or stress. By age group, the figure was highest among people in their 40s, at 81.2%, while women also exceeded the overall average, at 79.6%.

The most common reason for ending a relationship was "I felt bad or drained after meeting them," cited by 46.0% (multiple responses allowed). This was followed by "They seemed to contact me only when they needed something" (34.4%) and "It was hard to talk because our values or lifestyles were different" (30.9%).

Relationships Are Shrinking... But 4 in 10 Say They Feel Lonely

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This trend is also consistent with research analyzing recent changes in values in Korean society. "Korean Values Trends 2027," published by Yonsei University's CLIO Institute for Social Development and G&Com Research based on a survey of 4,500 people, identified "loose ties" as a defining change in Korean society. The report says that relationships once taken for granted in settings such as family, work, and school are weakening, while people are choosing the relationships they want for themselves - a shift, in other words, "from ties imposed on people to ties they choose."

Families are changing from communities of obligation to communities built on relationships, and marriage is shifting from a necessity to a choice. The growing emphasis on not encroaching on one another's personal space was also analyzed as part of the same trend. However, the researchers noted that while looser relationships may give individuals greater freedom, they may also come at the cost of loneliness.

Indeed, separate from the trend toward selectively reducing one's relationships, a significant number of people feel lonely. According to the "2025 Social Survey," released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics in 2025, 38.2% of the population aged 13 and older said they usually felt lonely. Of these, 33.5% said they "sometimes feel lonely," while 4.7% said they "often feel lonely."

The older the age group, the more likely respondents were to say they felt lonely. The figure was 32.2% among people in their 20s and 33.8% among those in their 30s, rising to 38.8% among people in their 40s and 41.7% among those in their 50s. It reached 43.4% among people aged 65 and older. In addition, 5.8% of the population had "no social network," meaning they had no one to ask for help or interact with regularly. In other words, reducing unnecessary relationships and focusing on a select few does not necessarily mean being free from loneliness.

Although people's social circles are shrinking, the need for relationships themselves has not disappeared. In the Embrain survey, 73.7% agreed that "good relationships improve quality of life." However, this figure was down from 81.7% in 2023. The very standards people use to define relationships are changing, with greater emphasis on maintaining ties with a few people they choose rather than connecting with a large number of people.

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