Marriage Delay and Catching-up: Does It Differ by Level of Education?

Sam Hyun Yoo, Arizona State University

Marriage delay has commonly appeared in many developed countries in the past decades. Unlike European countries, however, increasing marriage delay has not yet resulted in the eclipse of universal marriage in East Asia, probably due to the recuperation process through which the delayed marriage is made up in late ages. Despite the vigorous change in marriage timing, little is known about how much marriage is delayed and to what extent the delayed marriage is made up later. Taking advantages of Korean census samples data, this study explores the marriage postponement and recuperation process through cohort comparisons of marriage schedules. Results suggest that marriage delay has continued over a long period during the demographic transition in Korea. Given trends in marriage delay and recuperation, the proportion of ever-married women at the reproductive end is expected to decline greatly for upcoming cohorts, implying the end of universal marriage in the country.