The number of marriages in South Korea rose in 2023 for the first time in more than ten years.十多年来，韩国的婚姻数量在2023年首次增加。

The increase came after the pandemic which forced some couples to delay marriage plans. But the data did not point to a continued increase in the aging country.大流行迫使一些夫妇推迟婚姻计划之后，这一增加发生了。 但是数据并没有指出衰老国家的持续增加。

The small rise in marriages last year comes as its fertility rate continued to decrease. South Korea’s fertility rate, or the average number of children born per woman, is already the world’s lowest. It is falling because women are concerned about their careers, the cost of raising children, or are deciding not to have babies.去年婚姻的较小升高是随着其生育率继续下降。 韩国的生育率或每个女性出生的孩子的平均人数已经是世界上最低的。 之所以下降，是因为妇女担心自己的职业，抚养孩子的成本或决定不生孩子。

Government data showed a total of 193,657 couples got married last year. That is up 1.0 percent from 191,690 a year earlier. It is the first increase since 2011.政府数据显示，去年共有193,657对夫妇结婚。 这比去年同期的191,690％增长了1.0％。 这是自2011年以来的首次增长。

That compares with a 0.4 percent drop in 2022. That was when South Korea started to ease restrictions on social gatherings put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions saw the number of marriages decrease 9.8 percent in 2021 and 10.7 percent in 2020.相比之下，2022年下降了0.4％。那时，韩国开始在19日大流行期间开始放松对社交聚会的限制。 限制的婚姻数量在2021年下降了9.8％，在2020年下降了10.7％。

The 2023 number of marriages, however, remains well below the 239,159 marriages seen in 2019. And that compares to a yearly number of more than 320,000 recorded 10 years earlier.然而，2023年的婚姻数量远低于2019年的239,159次婚姻。这与10年前记录的年度超过320,000次相比。

A government official said that couples delaying marriage was a reason for more marriages in the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.一位政府官员说，延迟婚姻的夫妻是2022年下半年和2023年上半年婚姻更多的原因。

"In the second half of 2023, however, marriages fell year-on-year, indicating that people who had been delaying marriage due to COVID-19 have now mostly got married," the official told reporters.这位官员告诉记者：“然而，在2023年的下半年，婚姻同比下降，这表明人们延迟了由于19号而延迟婚姻的人现在已经结婚了。”

The 2023 increase was also well below the increases seen in nearby China. Marriages in China rose 12.4 percent last year. That happened as more couples got married after delays caused by the pandemic.2023年的增长也远低于附近中国的增长。 去年中国的婚姻增长了12.4％。 发生了大流行造成的延误后，夫妻夫妇结婚了。

Most South Koreans say high housing costs are the biggest reason for getting married. Many also see marriage as the first step before having a baby in the Asian country.大多数韩国人说，高住房成本是结婚的最大原因。 许多人还将婚姻视为在亚洲国家生孩子之前的第一步。

The Yonhap news agency reported a recent study of 500 South Koreans aged between 19 and 23. It showed that 50.4 percent of those asked did not plan on getting married or having children.Yonhap新闻社报道，最近对500名19至23岁之间的韩国人进行了一项研究。这表明50.4％的人没有打算结婚或生孩子。

The government says it will take “extraordinary measure” to deal the low birth rate. Political parties are promising public housing and easier loans for young South Koreans ahead of the April legislative election.政府表示，应采取“非凡措施”来处理低出生率。 政党在4月份的立法选举之前有望为年轻的韩国人提供公共住房和更容易的贷款。

Marriages with a foreign national greatly increased for a second year, increasing 18.3 percent to 19,717.与外国国民的婚姻第二年大大增加了，增长了18.3％，达到19,717。