阮忠/文　孟潔冰/譯

From honjok1—taking part in activities alone—to bihon—pledging never to marry—a pushback against the traditional family unit is reshaping society.

從獨(dú)自參加活動(dòng)的“獨(dú)身族”到發(fā)誓終身不結(jié)婚的“不婚”人士，對(duì)傳統(tǒng)家庭單位的抵制正在重塑社會(huì)。

Min Kyeong-seok is not shy about eating in restaurants alone， or staying in luxury hotels by himself， and shares his experiences online in his blog “One happy person”.

對(duì)于一個(gè)人在餐館吃飯或是獨(dú)自住豪華酒店，閔慶錫（音譯）沒(méi)覺(jué)得不好意思，他在自己的博客“一個(gè)快樂(lè)的人”中分享了親身經(jīng)歷。

“I want to show people that I am living a happy life despite being single，” says Min， 37.

“我想讓人們知道，盡管我是單身，但我生活得很快樂(lè)?！?37歲的閔慶錫說(shuō)。

“South Koreans often view single people as pitiful， lonely， or lacking something be it economically， psychologically or even physically.

“韓國(guó)人通常認(rèn)為單身的人孤獨(dú)可憐，或者在經(jīng)濟(jì)、心理甚至生理方面有什么缺陷?！?/p>

“But I dont need to be with others to enjoy a delicious meal. If anything， the service is better.”

“可我享用佳肴不一定非要人陪。要我說(shuō)，獨(dú)自用餐得到的服務(wù)還更周到呢?！?/p>

Opting to engage in activities alone is a growing trend in South Korea. It even has its own word， “honjok”， a combination of the Korean words for “by myself” and “tribe”. People who follow a honjok lifestyle do so willingly and confidently， not caring about the judgement of others. Min is among an increasing number of young people in the country embracing single life. Some have chosen to stay unattached， while others are delaying marriage and children. Some women are taking single living further and ruling out matrimony altogether， a choice known as “bihon”.

在韓國(guó)，選擇獨(dú)來(lái)獨(dú)往的趨勢(shì)日漸增長(zhǎng)。甚至出現(xiàn)了特有的叫法“獨(dú)身族”，由韓文的“獨(dú)身”和“族”組成。“獨(dú)身族”人士心甘情愿、滿懷信心地按照這種方式生活，并不在乎別人的評(píng)價(jià)。在韓國(guó)，越來(lái)越多的年輕人樂(lè)于享受單身生活，閔慶錫就是其中之一。有些年輕人選擇了獨(dú)身，有些年輕人則推遲結(jié)婚生子。有些女性則更進(jìn)一步，不僅獨(dú)自生活，還完全拒絕婚姻，這種選擇被稱為“不婚”。

Single-living boom

獨(dú)居熱潮

People in their 20s and 30s constitute the largest age groups of single-person households. Marriage and birth rates in the country are at record lows， as young people blame the high cost of living and home ownership for their reluctance to tie the knot. In South Korea， owning a house is traditionally seen as a prerequisite for marriage and in the past four years， the average price of an apartment in the capital Seoul has doubled.

從年齡段上看，單人家庭中占比最大的是二三十歲的年輕人。韓國(guó)的結(jié)婚率和出生率都創(chuàng)下歷史最低水平，而年輕人把不愿結(jié)婚的原因歸咎于高昂的生活成本和自有住房成本。在韓國(guó)，有一套房子歷來(lái)被視為結(jié)婚的先決條件，而在過(guò)去四年里，首都首爾的公寓平均價(jià)格已經(jīng)翻了一番。

Raising children is also becoming more expensive and the burden of private education—seen by many South Koreans as essential—has put many off plans to start a family.

養(yǎng)育孩子的成本也變得更高，許多韓國(guó)人認(rèn)為私教是必不可少的支出，這項(xiàng)負(fù)擔(dān)讓很多人推遲了生育計(jì)劃。

Joongseek Lee， a professor at Seoul National University who researches single-person households， says while South Korea remains a collective and patriarchal society there is a rising tendency “to stay alone or to become independent when one has the chance.”

首爾大學(xué)研究單人家庭的教授李宗熙（音）說(shuō)，雖然韓國(guó)仍然是集體父權(quán)制社會(huì)，但是“獨(dú)處或時(shí)機(jī)成熟就獨(dú)立生活”的趨勢(shì)日益上升。

While attitudes are changing， traditional expectations remain. For women， this includes marriage by 30， quitting their jobs to become mothers and full-time housewives. For men， it is providing a house and being the breadwinner.

雖然人們的觀念在改變，但傳統(tǒng)期望依然存在。對(duì)女性的期望包括在30歲前結(jié)婚，辭掉工作成為母親和全職家庭主婦。對(duì)男性的期望則是提供房子和養(yǎng)家糊口。

Min says the countrys traditional structures prevent him from being himself， and instead he wants to have a “flexible” life.

閔慶錫說(shuō)，韓國(guó)的傳統(tǒng)社會(huì)結(jié)構(gòu)讓他無(wú)法活出自我，而他想過(guò)一種“靈活”的生活。

“In Korean society， you feel as if you are constantly being assigned missions， from going to a good school and university， to getting a job， getting married， and having kids. When you dont fulfil your set of predetermined missions， you will be judged and asked why not.”

“在韓國(guó)社會(huì)，你感覺(jué)好像自己不停地被分派任務(wù)，先是進(jìn)一所好學(xué)校、上一所好大學(xué)，然后是找工作、結(jié)婚、生孩子。要是你沒(méi)有完成事先安排好的這一系列任務(wù)，就會(huì)有人評(píng)判你，問(wèn)你為什么沒(méi)有完成?！?/p>

The rise of honjok and bihon

“獨(dú)身族”和“不婚”的出現(xiàn)

For Seoul-based university student Lee Ye-eun， rampant gender inequality has influenced her way of life. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap among OECD countries. The country ranked last on The Economists Glass Ceiling Index2 for a ninth consecutive year， measuring where women have the best and worst chances of equal treatment at work.

對(duì)于住在首爾的大學(xué)生李藝恩（音）來(lái)說(shuō)，嚴(yán)重的性別不平等影響了她的生活方式。在經(jīng)合組織國(guó)家中，韓國(guó)的男女薪酬差距最大。在《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》評(píng)估各國(guó)女性在不同方面獲得平等職場(chǎng)待遇幾率大小的“玻璃天花板指數(shù)”中，韓國(guó)連續(xù)第九年排名倒數(shù)第一。

Lee has declared her bihon status， vowing never to marry.

李藝恩宣稱她是不婚狀態(tài)，發(fā)誓終身不會(huì)結(jié)婚。

“Im not going to date， Im not going to marry， and Im certainly not going to have a baby—even if you give me money，” says the 25-year-old.

“我不會(huì)約會(huì)，不會(huì)結(jié)婚，當(dāng)然也不會(huì)生孩子——就算你給我錢也不會(huì)。”這個(gè)25歲的女孩說(shuō)。

“I didnt pledge not to get married because there are no good men， but because society dictates that women be in a more disadvantageous position when they enter a relationship.”

“我發(fā)誓不結(jié)婚不是因?yàn)闆](méi)有好男人，而是因?yàn)樯鐣?huì)迫使女性在婚戀關(guān)系中處于更不利的地位?！?/p>

New businesses and offerings have emerged to cater for the swelling single and solo-living markets in South Korea.

為了迎合韓國(guó)日益增長(zhǎng)的單身和獨(dú)居市場(chǎng)，新的業(yè)務(wù)和產(chǎn)品不斷涌現(xiàn)出來(lái)。

The Seoul city government has created a task-force developing services for single-person households， such as low-cost security cameras， workshops on mental health and opportunities for singles to make kimchi—a staple in any household.

首爾市政府成立了一個(gè)工作組，為單人家庭策劃各種服務(wù)，比如安裝低成本安保攝像頭、開(kāi)展心理健康研討會(huì)和為單身人士提供制作泡菜（韓國(guó)家庭的主要食品）的機(jī)會(huì)。

Hotels are also trying to attract solo customers with “me-time” single occupancy staycation3 packages. Eating alone， also known as “honbap” and part of the honjok lifestyle， is predicted to grow as a trend， including at expensive restaurants. Convenience stores are providing more customised products and services for people living alone. And the pet economy is expected to surge in the coming years， according to Korea Rural Economic Research Institute， as more people opt for pets over parenthood.

酒店也嘗試推出“私享時(shí)光”宅度假單人套餐來(lái)吸引單身顧客。作為“獨(dú)身族”生活方式的一部分，“獨(dú)食”（獨(dú)自用餐）預(yù)計(jì)將成為一種趨勢(shì)，昂貴的餐廳也不例外。便利店為獨(dú)居人士提供更多專屬產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。韓國(guó)農(nóng)村經(jīng)濟(jì)研究院的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，隨著越來(lái)越多的人選擇飼養(yǎng)寵物而不是為人父母，寵物經(jīng)濟(jì)預(yù)計(jì)將在未來(lái)幾年大幅增長(zhǎng)。

Expanding the idea of family

擴(kuò)展家庭概念

Lee Ye-eun says embracing single life over the binds of marriage and child-rearing creates room for other pastimes.

李藝恩說(shuō)，擺脫結(jié)婚育兒的束縛享受單身，為其他消遣活動(dòng)創(chuàng)造了空間。

Time with her close friends has become more precious， and she hopes to create a community of like-minded individuals. Through an app for bihon women， she joined a sports group that she meets with several times a week for activities such as climbing and football.

李藝恩與密友相處的時(shí)光變得更加可貴，她希望創(chuàng)建一個(gè)由志同道合的人士組成的社群。通過(guò)一款專門為“不婚”女性設(shè)計(jì)的應(yīng)用程序，她加入了一個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)小組，每周大家都會(huì)見(jiàn)幾次面，一起開(kāi)展登山和足球等活動(dòng)。

Kang Ye-seul， 27， is a university employee who has also opted never to get married. She says staying single gives her more freedom and allows her to pursue hobbies and hang out with her non-married friends.

27歲的姜藝瑟（音譯）是一名大學(xué)職員，她也選擇了終身不結(jié)婚。她說(shuō)單身帶來(lái)了更多的自由，讓她可以追求自己的愛(ài)好，和未婚朋友一起出去玩。

“I feel like Im in a completely different world，” Kang says positively of her life decision.

“我覺(jué)得我生活在一個(gè)完全不同的世界?！苯嚿e極地評(píng)價(jià)她的人生選擇。

“In the past， I longed for happiness， wondered what it was， by what criteria to evaluate it， and curious about other peoples standards，” she says.

“過(guò)去，我渴望幸福，想知道幸福是什么，用什么標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來(lái)評(píng)判幸福，對(duì)別人的評(píng)判標(biāo)準(zhǔn)感到好奇。”她說(shuō)。

She remains cautiously optimistic about the place of single people in society.

她對(duì)單身人士在社會(huì)中的地位仍然持謹(jǐn)慎樂(lè)觀的態(tài)度。

“A sense of freedom and happiness followed after I learned that I could live a bihon life. Now， no matter what I do， its a choice only for me， so I dont feel burdened or afraid of any responsibility that comes with it. I dont think Ill ever be as unhappy as before.”

“我得知自己可以過(guò)‘不婚生活后，一種自由和幸福的感覺(jué)油然而生?，F(xiàn)在，無(wú)論我做什么，這都是我自己的選擇，所以我不覺(jué)得有負(fù)擔(dān)，也不害怕隨之而來(lái)的責(zé)任。我想，我再也不會(huì)像以前那樣不開(kāi)心了。”

Government attitudes and social awareness toward single-person households are still lagging compared to the direction in which society is moving， Kang says. She would like to see a society that is more accommodating to nontraditional household structures such as living together without being married or related to each other.

姜藝瑟說(shuō)，相比社會(huì)發(fā)展趨勢(shì)，政府對(duì)單人家庭的態(tài)度和大眾對(duì)單人家庭的認(rèn)知仍然滯后。她希望看到一個(gè)更加包容非傳統(tǒng)家庭結(jié)構(gòu)的社會(huì)，比如在不結(jié)婚或沒(méi)有親屬關(guān)系的情況下共同生活。

In 2021， the government announced it would look into expanding the scope of the term “family” which could eventually include cohabitation and single parenthood， the latter of which continues to be stigmatised.

2021年，韓國(guó)政府宣布將研究擴(kuò)展“家庭”的定義范圍，最終可能包括同居伴侶和單親父母，而后者一直受到污名化。

“There are still limitations to the system for single-person households，” Kang told The Guardian.

姜藝瑟在接受《衛(wèi)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示：“單人家庭的制度仍然存在局限性?！?/p>

“But I also see things positively given that such households are only going to increase in number.”

“但我也看到了積極的一面，因?yàn)檫@類家庭的數(shù)量只會(huì)越來(lái)越多?！?/p>

1這是一個(gè)結(jié)合了hon（獨(dú)身）和jok（族群）兩個(gè)詞的新造詞，指那些樂(lè)意獨(dú)自活動(dòng)的人。

2經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語(yǔ)，用于描述某個(gè)國(guó)家中女性在職場(chǎng)上晉升的難度。指數(shù)評(píng)估對(duì)象國(guó)包括經(jīng)合組織38個(gè)成員國(guó)中的29個(gè)成員國(guó)（以發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家為主），評(píng)估項(xiàng)目包括兩性高等教育和收入差距、女性勞動(dòng)參與度、女性高管占比、育兒費(fèi)用、兩性育兒休假情況等。

3 staycation在家中（或附近）度假（而不是到別處旅行）。