Young South Koreans Embrace Single Life韓國年輕人樂享單身生活

阮忠/文　孟潔冰/譯

From honjok1—taking part in activities alone—to bihon—pledging never to marry—a pushback against the traditional family unit is reshaping society.

從獨自參加活動的“獨身族”到發誓終身不結婚的“不婚”人士，對傳統家庭單位的抵制正在重塑社會。

Min Kyeong-seok is not shy about eating in restaurants alone， or staying in luxury hotels by himself， and shares his experiences online in his blog “One happy person”.

對于一個人在餐館吃飯或是獨自住豪華酒店，閔慶錫（音譯）沒覺得不好意思，他在自己的博客“一個快樂的人”中分享了親身經歷。

“I want to show people that I am living a happy life despite being single，” says Min， 37.

“我想讓人們知道，盡管我是單身，但我生活得很快樂?！?37歲的閔慶錫說。

“South Koreans often view single people as pitiful， lonely， or lacking something be it economically， psychologically or even physically.

“韓國人通常認為單身的人孤獨可憐，或者在經濟、心理甚至生理方面有什么缺陷?！?/p>

“But I dont need to be with others to enjoy a delicious meal. If anything， the service is better.”

“可我享用佳肴不一定非要人陪。要我說，獨自用餐得到的服務還更周到呢?！?/p>

Opting to engage in activities alone is a growing trend in South Korea. It even has its own word， “honjok”， a combination of the Korean words for “by myself” and “tribe”. People who follow a honjok lifestyle do so willingly and confidently， not caring about the judgement of others. Min is among an increasing number of young people in the country embracing single life. Some have chosen to stay unattached， while others are delaying marriage and children. Some women are taking single living further and ruling out matrimony altogether， a choice known as “bihon”.

在韓國，選擇獨來獨往的趨勢日漸增長。甚至出現了特有的叫法“獨身族”，由韓文的“獨身”和“族”組成。“獨身族”人士心甘情愿、滿懷信心地按照這種方式生活，并不在乎別人的評價。在韓國，越來越多的年輕人樂于享受單身生活，閔慶錫就是其中之一。有些年輕人選擇了獨身，有些年輕人則推遲結婚生子。有些女性則更進一步，不僅獨自生活，還完全拒絕婚姻，這種選擇被稱為“不婚”。

Single-living boom

獨居熱潮

People in their 20s and 30s constitute the largest age groups of single-person households. Marriage and birth rates in the country are at record lows， as young people blame the high cost of living and home ownership for their reluctance to tie the knot. In South Korea， owning a house is traditionally seen as a prerequisite for marriage and in the past four years， the average price of an apartment in the capital Seoul has doubled.

從年齡段上看，單人家庭中占比最大的是二三十歲的年輕人。韓國的結婚率和出生率都創下歷史最低水平，而年輕人把不愿結婚的原因歸咎于高昂的生活成本和自有住房成本。在韓國，有一套房子歷來被視為結婚的先決條件，而在過去四年里，首都首爾的公寓平均價格已經翻了一番。

Raising children is also becoming more expensive and the burden of private education—seen by many South Koreans as essential—has put many off plans to start a family.

養育孩子的成本也變得更高，許多韓國人認為私教是必不可少的支出，這項負擔讓很多人推遲了生育計劃。

Joongseek Lee， a professor at Seoul National University who researches single-person households， says while South Korea remains a collective and patriarchal society there is a rising tendency “to stay alone or to become independent when one has the chance.”

首爾大學研究單人家庭的教授李宗熙（音）說，雖然韓國仍然是集體父權制社會，但是“獨處或時機成熟就獨立生活”的趨勢日益上升。

While attitudes are changing， traditional expectations remain. For women， this includes marriage by 30， quitting their jobs to become mothers and full-time housewives. For men， it is providing a house and being the breadwinner.

雖然人們的觀念在改變，但傳統期望依然存在。對女性的期望包括在30歲前結婚，辭掉工作成為母親和全職家庭主婦。對男性的期望則是提供房子和養家糊口。

Min says the countrys traditional structures prevent him from being himself， and instead he wants to have a “flexible” life.

閔慶錫說，韓國的傳統社會結構讓他無法活出自我，而他想過一種“靈活”的生活。

“In Korean society， you feel as if you are constantly being assigned missions， from going to a good school and university， to getting a job， getting married， and having kids. When you dont fulfil your set of predetermined missions， you will be judged and asked why not.”

“在韓國社會，你感覺好像自己不停地被分派任務，先是進一所好學校、上一所好大學，然后是找工作、結婚、生孩子。要是你沒有完成事先安排好的這一系列任務，就會有人評判你，問你為什么沒有完成?！?/p>

The rise of honjok and bihon

“獨身族”和“不婚”的出現

For Seoul-based university student Lee Ye-eun， rampant gender inequality has influenced her way of life. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap among OECD countries. The country ranked last on The Economists Glass Ceiling Index2 for a ninth consecutive year， measuring where women have the best and worst chances of equal treatment at work.

對于住在首爾的大學生李藝恩（音）來說，嚴重的性別不平等影響了她的生活方式。在經合組織國家中，韓國的男女薪酬差距最大。在《經濟學人》評估各國女性在不同方面獲得平等職場待遇幾率大小的“玻璃天花板指數”中，韓國連續第九年排名倒數第一。

Lee has declared her bihon status， vowing never to marry.

李藝恩宣稱她是不婚狀態，發誓終身不會結婚。

“Im not going to date， Im not going to marry， and Im certainly not going to have a baby—even if you give me money，” says the 25-year-old.

“我不會約會，不會結婚，當然也不會生孩子——就算你給我錢也不會。”這個25歲的女孩說。

“I didnt pledge not to get married because there are no good men， but because society dictates that women be in a more disadvantageous position when they enter a relationship.”

“我發誓不結婚不是因為沒有好男人，而是因為社會迫使女性在婚戀關系中處于更不利的地位。”

New businesses and offerings have emerged to cater for the swelling single and solo-living markets in South Korea.

為了迎合韓國日益增長的單身和獨居市場，新的業務和產品不斷涌現出來。

The Seoul city government has created a task-force developing services for single-person households， such as low-cost security cameras， workshops on mental health and opportunities for singles to make kimchi—a staple in any household.

首爾市政府成立了一個工作組，為單人家庭策劃各種服務，比如安裝低成本安保攝像頭、開展心理健康研討會和為單身人士提供制作泡菜（韓國家庭的主要食品）的機會。

Hotels are also trying to attract solo customers with “me-time” single occupancy staycation3 packages. Eating alone， also known as “honbap” and part of the honjok lifestyle， is predicted to grow as a trend， including at expensive restaurants. Convenience stores are providing more customised products and services for people living alone. And the pet economy is expected to surge in the coming years， according to Korea Rural Economic Research Institute， as more people opt for pets over parenthood.

酒店也嘗試推出“私享時光”宅度假單人套餐來吸引單身顧客。作為“獨身族”生活方式的一部分，“獨食”（獨自用餐）預計將成為一種趨勢，昂貴的餐廳也不例外。便利店為獨居人士提供更多專屬產品和服務。韓國農村經濟研究院的數據顯示，隨著越來越多的人選擇飼養寵物而不是為人父母，寵物經濟預計將在未來幾年大幅增長。

Expanding the idea of family

擴展家庭概念

Lee Ye-eun says embracing single life over the binds of marriage and child-rearing creates room for other pastimes.

李藝恩說，擺脫結婚育兒的束縛享受單身，為其他消遣活動創造了空間。

Time with her close friends has become more precious， and she hopes to create a community of like-minded individuals. Through an app for bihon women， she joined a sports group that she meets with several times a week for activities such as climbing and football.

李藝恩與密友相處的時光變得更加可貴，她希望創建一個由志同道合的人士組成的社群。通過一款專門為“不婚”女性設計的應用程序，她加入了一個運動小組，每周大家都會見幾次面，一起開展登山和足球等活動。

Kang Ye-seul， 27， is a university employee who has also opted never to get married. She says staying single gives her more freedom and allows her to pursue hobbies and hang out with her non-married friends.

27歲的姜藝瑟（音譯）是一名大學職員，她也選擇了終身不結婚。她說單身帶來了更多的自由，讓她可以追求自己的愛好，和未婚朋友一起出去玩。

“I feel like Im in a completely different world，” Kang says positively of her life decision.

“我覺得我生活在一個完全不同的世界?！苯嚿e極地評價她的人生選擇。

“In the past， I longed for happiness， wondered what it was， by what criteria to evaluate it， and curious about other peoples standards，” she says.

“過去，我渴望幸福，想知道幸福是什么，用什么標準來評判幸福，對別人的評判標準感到好奇。”她說。

She remains cautiously optimistic about the place of single people in society.

她對單身人士在社會中的地位仍然持謹慎樂觀的態度。

“A sense of freedom and happiness followed after I learned that I could live a bihon life. Now， no matter what I do， its a choice only for me， so I dont feel burdened or afraid of any responsibility that comes with it. I dont think Ill ever be as unhappy as before.”

“我得知自己可以過‘不婚生活后，一種自由和幸福的感覺油然而生。現在，無論我做什么，這都是我自己的選擇，所以我不覺得有負擔，也不害怕隨之而來的責任。我想，我再也不會像以前那樣不開心了?！?/p>

Government attitudes and social awareness toward single-person households are still lagging compared to the direction in which society is moving， Kang says. She would like to see a society that is more accommodating to nontraditional household structures such as living together without being married or related to each other.

姜藝瑟說，相比社會發展趨勢，政府對單人家庭的態度和大眾對單人家庭的認知仍然滯后。她希望看到一個更加包容非傳統家庭結構的社會，比如在不結婚或沒有親屬關系的情況下共同生活。

In 2021， the government announced it would look into expanding the scope of the term “family” which could eventually include cohabitation and single parenthood， the latter of which continues to be stigmatised.

2021年，韓國政府宣布將研究擴展“家庭”的定義范圍，最終可能包括同居伴侶和單親父母，而后者一直受到污名化。

“There are still limitations to the system for single-person households，” Kang told The Guardian.

姜藝瑟在接受《衛報》采訪時表示：“單人家庭的制度仍然存在局限性?！?/p>

“But I also see things positively given that such households are only going to increase in number.”

“但我也看到了積極的一面，因為這類家庭的數量只會越來越多?！?/p>

1這是一個結合了hon（獨身）和jok（族群）兩個詞的新造詞，指那些樂意獨自活動的人。

2經濟學術語，用于描述某個國家中女性在職場上晉升的難度。指數評估對象國包括經合組織38個成員國中的29個成員國（以發達國家為主），評估項目包括兩性高等教育和收入差距、女性勞動參與度、女性高管占比、育兒費用、兩性育兒休假情況等。

3 staycation在家中（或附近）度假（而不是到別處旅行）。