E.V.: Why do you think people in the past chose to marry? And what is the reason people marry nowadays?
Prof. Yoo: To people of the past, the functional areas of marriage such as cooperation and division of work between couples were important. People living in today's society, however, value romantic love. They focus more on emotional relationships rather than practical aspects of daily-married life.
E.V.: Is marriage necessary?
Prof. Yoo: According to Freud, the happiness of human beings is dependent on work and love. I believe that marriage is not a crystalloid of love, but something people do to maintain a stable life, due to the commitment, self-sacrifice and emotional bond one experiences in married life.
E.V.: Marriage trends are changing. Why are these changes occurring?
Prof. Yoo: Current trends show that people are very idealistic. They tend to neglect reality and attach importance only to romantic love. People also are very reluctant to devote the necessary time and energy to understanding themselves, each other, and the relationship they are involved in. This mindset leads to hardships in forming unity between couples.
E.V.: Statistics show that the average marrying age is getting older. Why are people marrying later?
Prof. Yoo: People these days wish to enjoy their lives with their partners after building stability in their own life, rather than sharing difficulties with their spouses through companionship in marriage. Couples now spend more time getting ready for married life.
E.V.: How do you foresee the change in marriage trends?
Prof. Yoo: The number of singles, cohabitating couples, and divorced couples will increase. The average marriageable age will increase as well. The reason could be that more people will place value on personal benefits than on self-sacrifice and traditional family culture in marriage.
E.V.: What is your opinion on marriage during student life, that is, marriage at an early age?
Prof. Yoo: If you are looking at the standard of young age as "students," I'd highly oppose it. Of course there are some exceptions but generally marriage is for independent adults. The independence I mean here is financial independence. Most students are not economically independent. Marriage financially supported by someone else can lead to conflicts between the couple.
E.V.: Currently, various mass media deal with early marriage. Although people themselves usually marry late, why do you think this theme is so popular?
Prof. Yoo: Today, puberty for children starts earlier compared to the children of the past. Adolescents therefore get interested in the opposite sex earlier. Moreover, the young generation can easily have contact with different sexual stimuli through the Internet, so these media themes do not seem to be disturbances in their culture. It is a commonly accepted social issue rather than a taboo. Therefore, I believe it forms a bond of sympathy with the viewers.