More Koreans Miss Out on Marriage

The number of singles above the normal marriageable age is increasing sharply. According to analysis of the 2010 Census by the Chosun Ilbo on Sunday, 450,632 men in their 40s remain single, a 2.3-fold rise from a decade ago. That means one out of nine men in the age group was unmarried.

The number of single women between 35 and 39 also increased 2.9-fold from 10 years ago to 256,374, which translates into one in eight.

Statistically, if a man in his 40s or a woman in her late 30s remains single, chances are they will stay unmarried for life. Given the figures above, 700,000 people look set to remain among the nation's 13.9 percent single households.

Only some 35,000 men in their 40s married last year, and 26,000 women in their late 30s. The soaring number of singles in the age brackets may cause a dramatic change in the nation's family structure in ten years, said Cho Nam-hoon, a chair professor at Hanyang University