Colloquium in November 2024
Won-tae Koh (CLIO Institute for Social Development Studies, Yonsei University)
This study explores the possibility that the recent increase in premarital pregnancies may reflect differential demographic behaviors across social strata and examines whether this serves as a pathway for intergenerational inequality reproduction.
Analysis using The Panel Study on Korean Children(PSKC) data supports previous findings that premarital pregnancy is more common among lower education and lower income groups.
However, unlike findings from Western studies, the negative impact of premarital pregnancy on children’s cognitive development was limited, and no widening developmental gaps were observed over time.
These results suggest an ongoing stratification in family formation processes, yet they highlight the need to revisit existing theories within the unique cultural and institutional context of South Korea.
