More Korean Men Become House Husbands

"House husbands," or men who stay at home to focus on child rearing and household chores, multiplied 125 percent in Seoul over the last five years, while the number of employed women in their late 20s in the capital now exceeds the number of employed men in the same age group.

According to a study by the Seoul city government published Sunday, the number of house husbands in the capital totals 36,000, up from 16,000 in 2005. Over the same period, the number of housewives rose just 6.1 percent, from 1.32 million to 1.4 million.

There were 447,000 employed men between 25 and 29 in 2000, but their number fell 30 percent to 313,000 last year. In contrast, the number of employed women in the same age group rose 1.2 percent from 329.000 to 333,000 over the same period, overtaking their male counterparts in 2008.

"Men tend to look for stable jobs, so many prepare for government service exams or special licenses, which leads to an increase in the number of economically inactive men," a Seoul city official said. "In contrast, more and more women earn higher degrees and are willing to work even as temporary, contract-based workers."

Also, 94,837 men or 21.6 percent in their late 20s are still at university, while the figure is only 8.9 percent for women.

Meanwhile, the proportion of men between 15 to 24 who are willing to have cosmetic surgery rose to 39.4 percent, up 10.5 percent from 2007. Also, 41.2 percent of young Koreans said they buy designer brands even though they are more expensive than other products, a 9.3 percent increase from three years ago.