SEOUL—While the overall divorce rate in South Korea has trended downward, a striking counter-development has emerged: a significant surge in "twilight divorces" among the elderly, coupled with a predictable spike in marital dissolution following major national holidays. This phenomenon, detailed in the 2025 Elderly Statistics from the national data authority, reflects profound shifts in both demographics and societal values concerning marriage and family.
Gray Divorce and Remarriage on the Rise
The year 2024 saw the national divorce rate decrease by 1.3%. However, the number of divorces among individuals aged 65 and older sharply increased—by 8.0% for men and a more pronounced 13.2% for women. This marks a reversal of a two-year decline and highlights the growing trend of elderly couples dissolving decades-long marriages.
This rise in twilight divorce is intrinsically linked to South Korea’s rapid demographic shift. In 2024, the elderly population (aged 65 and over) surpassed 10 million, with the elderly ratio exceeding 20.3% of the total population for the first time, officially ushering the nation into a super-aged society.
Crucially, this dissolution of marriage is not leading to solitude but rather to new unions. Remarriage rates among the elderly are also climbing, contradicting the general downward trend in overall remarriages. Elderly men's remarriages increased by 6.4% and elderly women's by a dramatic 15.1%. This dual increase in divorce and remarriage is widely interpreted as a reflection of eroding traditional views that once branded divorce as a social failure. With increased longevity and a growing desire for individual happiness, older adults are increasingly choosing to seek fulfillment and redefine their personal lives through late-life relationship changes.
Interestingly, this greater personal freedom coexists with a reported increase in marital satisfaction. The survey indicated that 70.3% of the elderly population expressed satisfaction with their spousal relationship, a 5.4 percentage point increase from two years prior. Men reported higher satisfaction (75.5%) than women (63.9%), revealing a significant 11.6 percentage point gap. This suggests that as societal acceptance of divorce grows, individuals in unhappy marriages are more likely to exit, leaving behind a pool of those who are genuinely satisfied, thus raising the overall reported satisfaction rate.
The 'Holiday Aftermath' Divorce Spike
Beyond the long-term trend of gray divorce, annual statistics reveal a persistent, cyclical pattern of marital breakdown linked to major traditional holidays like Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Seollal (Lunar New Year).
Data analysis from the 2010s shows a predictable spike in divorce filings in the months immediately following these holidays. For instance, in 2018, the number of divorces jumped by a staggering 34.9% from 7,826 cases in September (pre-Chuseok) to 10,548 in October (post-Chuseok). Similarly, the months following the Lunar New Year (March to May) consistently saw an average increase of 11.5% in divorce cases between 2015 and 2019.
Legal experts attribute this surge to the immense stress and conflict that traditional holiday obligations—particularly those related to extended family visits and ancestral rites—place on couples. The burden of preparation, cooking, and serving traditionally falls heavily on one spouse, typically the woman, often exacerbating existing marital friction. When this unequal labor is not managed or moderated by the spouse, the resulting resentment and built-up frustration often escalate to an irreparable breaking point once the holiday period concludes. The intensive, forced togetherness and heightened expectations of familial harmony during the holidays often serve to highlight the deepest cracks in a troubled marriage, prompting the decision to file for divorce as a New Year's resolution or an immediate post-holiday necessity.
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