Over recent years, Korea has seen the rise of families that are different in formation from the ones with which we as Koreans have been well-acquainted in our culture. Prominent among these emerging families are unmarried cohabitation unions. Accordingly, the Basic Plan for Low Fertility and Aging Society in its third phase (2016~2020) rightly attaches considerable weight to “increasing the inclusiveness for diverse families,” indicating a policy move toward the cultivation of a social environment in which diverse families—including non-marital cohabitation families—are treated without prejudice and provided with the social support they need to raise their children well. However, the current circumstances are such that, due to the dearth of relevant data and research, the characteristics of unmarried cohabitation families remain only thinly understood. This makes it difficult to establish evidence-based policy measures that will feed through into making Korea’s social environment more conducive for non-marital cohabitation families to settle down as firmly and with as much security as any legally-married family can. This study is intended to contribute to the understanding of Korean cohabiters’ experiences in their lives as unmarried cohabiters and of the values they hold about family.
