A recent study has found that more than half of South Korea's young people in their early 20s who are in school or employed have given up on plans for marriage and having children.

Such study results, based on a survey conducted on 500 people aged 19 to 23 in the nation's six regions using a 2022 research data by World Vision, were included in a thesis published in the Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies.

Based on responses to ten items, such as dating, marriage, having children and buying a house, more than half or 50-point-4 percent, of the respondents were found to have almost given up on marriage and children while still having other future plans. 

Among this category of respondents, 80 percent said they still had future plans about social relationships, self development, hobbies and taking care of their health. 

The research team explained that most cited reasons for lack of marriage plans were wedding costs and importance of having a personal life and leisure, while the reasons for lack of plans for children were child-rearing burden and lack of personal life.