Majority of Internet users support cohabitation before marriage

Almost nine out of 10 Korean women support the idea of living together with potential spouses before marriage, a survey showed Tuesday.

The survey, conducted by Chollian, a local Internet service provider on its 13,887 subscribers, found that only 10.7 percent of women did not approve the idea of living out of wedlock. The remaining 80.3 percent responded that it is not a bad idea or it is completely a personal choice. Among men, 14.7 percent, slightly more than women, said that they would not favor the idea.

Asked whether they regard pre-marriage cohabitation as a test period, 28.8 percent of female respondents said that they do while 21.8 percent answered negative. The remaining 49.4 percent said that it depends. On the other hand, 29.2 percent of men agreed that the cohabitation was a test stage while 29.5 percent said ``It is not`` and 41.3 percent said ``It depends.``

The survey also showed that 73.1 percent of the respondents did not think love equaled marriage.

As for standards to select their life partners, both men and women cited ``good personality`` first. As the second most important factor, men pointed to appearance while women pointed to occupation or wealth.

Cheon Kwang-Am iam@donga.com