"Rather than divorce, living together before marriage"... So Yi-hyeon, Lee Hyo-ri, and Yoo Tae-oh, the secret to living well is 'rehearsing for marriage'

Times have changed, and values on marriage have also changed. There are more and more people who break away from the traditional view of marriage and try to 'rehearse marriage' by living together before marriage. Stars such as So Yi-hyeon, Lee Hyo-ri, and Yoo Tae-oh also confessed to living together before marriage.

So Yi-hyun and In Gyo-jin recently revealed their thoughts on living together before marriage through their YouTube channels. This is while a subscriber confesses her concerns that she is in conflict with her boyfriend over the issue of cohabitation before marriage. In Gyo-jin said, "If you don't know whether to get married or not, it's okay to live together. Married life and living together can be completely different paths." It is a positive view of cohabitation with marriage life in mind.

So Yi-hyeon and In Gyo-jin got married in 2014 and are raising two daughters. These couples actually have experience living together before marriage. The two lived together briefly before marriage while deciding to get married. So Yi-hyun confessed, "I registered my marriage before the wedding. We lived together for less than two months." In Gyo-jin also emphasized, "I can't help but regret it. Married life is not easy, but you have to adjust it well." So Yi-hyun pointed out, "Marriage is a matter of responsibility and weight. Isn't living together without any responsibility just trying to live once?"

Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon lived together before marriage. Hyo-ri Lee mentioned the positive effect of going through the preliminary process of marriage through cohabitation before marriage, citing Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as an example. Hyo-ri Lee said, "I think we can get divorced if we don't get along after we get married. I want to live with the person I love, have children, and build a happy family." It doesn't seem like a bad thing to do," he said.

In fact, before officially marrying Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon, they lived together for two years with the permission of the parents of both families. Taking time to understand each other more deeply. The two, who got married in 2013, still look like newlyweds on the air, giving viewers excitement.

Teo Yoo, who married Nikiri, a photographer 11 years her senior, in 2006, also confessed to living together before marriage. Teo Yoo appeared on an entertainment program and revealed his thoughts on living together before marriage. "I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but I did. We lived together before we got married," he said.

Teo Yoo was able to have the confidence to marry Nikiri through living together before marriage. He said, "Within two weeks of meeting, I thought, 'This person will marry me.' There was no doubt." Hearing this, the manager asked, "What if I thought about getting married and even lived together, but it doesn't work out?" Teo Yoo said, "I got married, but it might not be right. It could be a situation where I did a good job of prevention from the beginning. Rather than the concept of failure, I think we can think that we had a good experience together."

Social awareness of cohabitation before marriage has become more tolerant. However, what is still emphasized is that cohabitation is not for simple 'pleasure', but for 'pre-marriage life'. It is in this context that cohabitation of unmarried men and women was negatively perceived in the past. It's a way to enjoy love more. But now, the perception that cohabitation is the time to lay the groundwork for a harmonious marriage has become stronger. Stars who lived together before marriage also agreed to live together before marriage, being wary of the fact that cohabitation could be taken lightly.

According to the '2022 Social Survey Results' announced by the National Statistical Office last year, positive responses to unmarried cohabitation and childbirth have been on the rise since 2012. The number of people who think that men and women can live together even if they are not married is 65.2%, up 5.5 percentage points from two years ago. The number of people who think they can have children without getting married is also 34.7%, which is also a 4.0%p increase.

Reporter Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia bella@tenasia.co.kr