No legal definition; 20+ years is the common statistical cutoff.

What is "marriage graduation"?

Living separately while remaining legally married.

Gray divorce

👪 Family & Child Studies By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated October 23, 2026

Gray divorce refers to divorce among couples married 20 years or more. In Korea it made up 36.2% of all divorces in 2024.

Contents

1. Overview
2. Statistics
3. Causes
4. Pension splitting and property
5. Alternatives
6. Frequently asked questions
7. References

Overview

Gray divorce usually means divorce among couples married 20 years or longer. In Japan it is *jukunen rikon*.

📌 At a glance

Korea 2024: 32,981 cases (36.2%)
Japan 2022: 23.5% (record)
US: Rate doubled for 50+ (1990–2010)
Tools: Pension splitting

Statistics

Statistics Korea reported 32,981 of 91,151 divorces in 2024 (36.2%) involved marriages of 20+ years. Brown and Lin (2012) found the divorce rate among Americans 50+ doubled from 1990 to 2010.

Causes

Longer life expectancy, children leaving home, post-retirement friction, women’s economic independence, and entrenched patterns like the demand–withdraw pattern.

Pension splitting and property

Korea: property division (Civil Act Art. 839-2) and split pensions for marriages of 5+ years (National Pension Act Art. 64). Japan introduced employee-pension splitting in April 2007.

Japan’s 2007 pension reform made headlines. Media speculated that wives were waiting for it before filing.

Alternatives

Planning retirement roles, maintaining separate friendships, counseling, or "graduating from marriage" (living apart while staying married).

Frequently asked questions

What is the cutoff?: No legal definition; 20+ years is the common statistical cutoff.
Can homemakers split pensions?: Yes, if requirements are met.
What is "marriage graduation"?: Living separately while remaining legally married.

References

통계청(국가데이터처). (2025). 「2024년 혼인·이혼 통계」. 2025년 3월 20일 보도자료.
厚生労働省. (2025). 「令和6年(2024)人口動態統計月報年計（概数）の概況」.
Brown, S. L., & Lin, I.-F. (2012). The gray divorce revolution: Rising divorce among middle-aged and older adults, 1990–2010. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 67(6), 731–741.
대한민국 「국민연금법」 제64조; 日本「厚生年金保険法」第78条の2(離婚時の年金分割).

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

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This article was last updated on October 23, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.