Korea has declared its super-low birthrate a “national emergency” and poured billions into encouraging citizens to marry and reproduce, but one YouTuber has found happiness and success promoting the opposite ideal.
At her home in rural Korea, Seen Aromi practices yoga, sleeps in as long as she wants and encourages her more than 200,000 YouTube followers to not feel afraid, ashamed or guilty about being single.
“Not getting married is my greatest achievement,” 37-year-old Seen told AFP, saying that she had never seen becoming a “good” wife or mother as the ultimate purpose of her life.
“They say it’s a ‘disaster'” that women are not having children in Korea, she said, referring to official concern over the looming demographic crisis in the country, which has the world’s lowest birth rate and a rapidly aging population.
“But when I think about the potential downsides of not having children, (for me) there is nothing,” she added.
Seen wrote about the joy she found in opting out of society’s expectations and embracing solo living, and her book — “I Can’t Help but 커뮤니티 Live Well On My Own” — has become a surprise hit.
It briefly topped a major bestseller chart in Korea, with an enthusiastic response not only from other single women in their 30s, but also from an older generation, including people who had been widowed or divorced.
She enthused in the book about having “the freedom to be as lazy as I want” and not being criticized for it.
“While some people might marry because they dislike being alone, others choose not to meet anyone simply because they enjoy lying around,” she wrote.