South Korean women were found to be emotionally dependent on the employment status of their spouses, with more women likely to suffer from depression when their partners retire, a study showed Monday.

The results were also connected to the low employment rate of women in South Korea, with only 55.7 percent of women aged 15-65 in the workforce. This is lower than the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
The study on depression researched a total of 5,937 South Koreans from 2006-2012 in four different sessions. It showed that women whose spouses have retired from work are 70 percent more likely to suffer from depression than those with working husbands.

On the other hand, Korean men’s likelihood of developing depression was not affected by their spouse’s employment status.

“We think the results were affected by Korea’s traditional ideas on gender roles, that men are supposed to be breadwinners of the family while women should be responsible for domestic affairs and caring for children,” researchers said.

According to another study by the KB Financial Group Research Center last year, most South Koreans are short on retirement savings. After surveying 2,906 Koreans aged 25-59 nationwide on their household finances, the think tank concluded that Koreans need an average monthly income of 2.26 million won ($1,940) for postretirement expenses.

However, based on the surveyed individual’s savings, public and private pension plans and other financial assets, they only had an average monthly income of 1.1 million won for their postretirement days.

Physician Kang Mo-yeol, who researched Korean women’s likelihood of developing depression and its connection to their spouses’ retirement, said in single-income households the breadwinner’s retirement can affect both the mental and physical health of all the family members.

“When a man is the only source of household income, losing that income can change a lot of things for his wife and even adult children,” the researcher said. “The situation can be very stressful if the spouse feels the family is ill-prepared for the postretirement days.”

A 29-year-old woman in Seoul whose father recently retired said the change in his employment status a few years ago brought a number of new challenges to her family, especially for her mother.

“Prior to his retirement, my father never cooked a single meal and still doesn’t know how to cook or clean,” she said, adding that her mother is stressed although not depressed. She wished her name not to be published for privacy reasons.

“Now that he’s at home most of the time, my mother has to cook three times a day for him, not to mention her not being used to spending so much time with him all the time. I hope my father realizes that the situation is different now and if he is willing to change it would definitely help.”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)