In South Korea, there is a YouTuber named Seen Aromi who has found pleasure and success in promoting a lifestyle different from the efforts of the country to raise its critically low birth rate. At 37 years old, she practices yoga, has flexible sleep hours and tells her thousands of YouTube fans that being single is nothing to be ashamed of.
“Not getting married is my greatest achievement”, AFP quoted Seen as saying, stressing that becoming a “good” wife or mother had never been her life’s ultimate goal. She was critical of the idea that not having children by women in South Korea is a “catastrophe” referring to the nation’s impending demographic crisis which boasts the world’s lowest birth rate and an increasingly aged population. The disadvantages of not having children don’t bother her at all.
“I Can’t Help But Live Well On My Own” is Seen’s book, one that unexpectedly became a bestseller in South Korea with brief appearances on major charts apart from resonating with single women in their thirties like herself but also with older generations such as those who had lost their husbands or were divorced. Seen wrote about laziness being free from criticism; – ‘While some people might marry because they dislike being alone, others choose not to meet anyone simply because they enjoy lying around’ –she says this in her book.
Experts say many young Koreans are forgoing marriage and childrearing due to economic factors ranging from stagnant growth rates; high housing costs especially within Seoul; and intense competition for well-paying white collar jobs. Nevertheless, broader cultural issues also matter since the country remains socially conservative; with stigma against single parents, non-recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages plus married females quitting work while spending 3.5 times more daily hours on housekeeping and childcare than their male counterparts.
Seen has discovered real happiness after letting go of traditional signs of success for South Koreans: an apartment in Seoul, a highly paid job and a loving spouse. She had never worked for a major company, lived in the city or been married.
After living abroad for years, working various jobs and sharing her life experiences online, she returned home to South Korea where she settled in a rural town and renovated her late grandfather’s old family house. Her YouTube channel has become popular with over 200k subscribers in addition to making five times as much money from one video as compared to what she used to earn monthly while in Seoul; she now lives more independently and contentedly.
But even as Seen faces criticisms on the Internet that range from assertions that she must be lonely or that “selfish” is all that can describe someone who refuses to marry, she stands by her position that others should respect her happiness like married people are hardly questioned about their own. She has been in several fulfilling relationships but prioritizes her autonomy and adventurous lifestyle over starting a family.
