When popular Korean drama My Lovely Sam-Soon hit the TV screens in Korea last year, it sparked off hope in women facing similar situation to find their life partners. This optimism increases with the release of DalJa's Spring this year, followed by a series of Korean drama that revolves around similar themes. The 30-something single women on TV are often seen as having a hard time with their love lives, career and society’s standards. Are women over the age of 30 in Korea really leading such difficult lives in reality?

In Korea, many women over the age of 30 are complaining about how hard it is to get hitched. It seems impossible to meet potential mates and it is even harder for their friends and family to introduce new guys. So where then, does the problem lie?

In general, there are three types of women in marriages. The first type would be the “survival” type where the woman is just contented to stay home managing household chores and taking care of the family. The second type is the “dependant” type where the woman is fully capable of taking care of herself but is looking for a man with a higher income so that she can have the privilege to decide if she should work after marriage. The third type is the “preserving” type where the woman has a high income and will only consider marriage if it does not interfere with her career.

Most Korean women belong to the second category, the “dependant” type, because they do not plan on taking care of themselves for the rest of their lives and so they will search for a man anxiously so that they can be taken care of.

However, accepting a guy with good financial background has its own disadvantages. If they meet a man with high income, they are afraid of degrading into the first category (the “survival” type), and only stay at home to do housework. Another issue that women worry is that if both parties are working, she will still have to do housework and take care of the kids.

It is really rare to find someone who can offer them the best of both worlds. With such a specific requirement, these women are having difficulties in finding their suitable partners.

Probably a better way for this group of women are looking for love to get out of this limbo is to jump out of the “dependant” mindset and climb towards the “coexist” level. Instead of focusing on material aspects, it will be more realistic to find suitable partners to “coexist” with as life companions, someone whom they can share their burdens with and do things together. The career/material aspect can always be planned out along the way after all.