在韓國(guó)，有大批三四十歲的成年人依然和自己的父母同住，由父母來(lái)做飯、干家務(wù)并支付生活費(fèi)，這樣的人被稱為“袋鼠族”。這些大齡啃老族和他們的父母都是怎么看待這種生活狀態(tài)的呢？

Most parents want to shield their children from the hardships of the world, and in South Korea, that often means continuing to provide a home for them even after they are well into adulthood.

大多數(shù)父母都想在這個(gè)艱難的世界中保護(hù)自己的孩子，在韓國(guó)，這意味著甚至在孩子們?cè)缫殉赡旰笠廊灰o他們提供一個(gè)家。

"Let’s be honest. How could I let my precious boy have a hard time?” Lee Young-wook, 61, said.

61歲的李英宇說(shuō)：“說(shuō)實(shí)話，我怎么忍心讓我的寶貝兒子受苦呢？”

His son, Lee Jeong-kyu, is 31 and still lives with his parents in the home in which he grew up in Bundang, a suburb of Seoul. Their home is no mansion, but rather a small apartment, just big enough for the three of them.

她兒子李廷圭已經(jīng)31歲了，依然和父母一起住在首爾市郊盆唐區(qū)他從小長(zhǎng)大的家里。他們家并非豪宅，只是個(gè)小公寓，對(duì)一家三口來(lái)說(shuō)僅僅是剛好夠住而已。

Despite the tight space, the younger Lee has never moved out and lived on his own before — and he doesn’t intend to get his own place anytime soon.

盡管空間有限，小李從來(lái)沒有搬出去獨(dú)自住過，而且他近期也沒這個(gè)打算。

He is a member of South Korea’s “kangaroo tribe” — a moniker used to describe unmarried men and women who haven’t moved out of their parents’ homes, even though they are in their 30s and even 40s. The name suggests the image of an overgrown marsupial that hasn’t left its mother’s pouch.

他是韓國(guó)“袋鼠族”的一員?！按笞濉庇脕?lái)描述那些已經(jīng)三十多歲甚至四十多歲卻還未從父母家搬出去的未婚男女們。這個(gè)稱謂讓人聯(lián)想到一只長(zhǎng)得過大卻尚未離開母親育兒袋的有袋類動(dòng)物。

According to a recent report from South Korea’s national statistics office, more than 50 percent of unmarried adults between the ages of 30 and 40, and 44 percent of those between 40 and 44, still live with their parents.

韓國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局最新報(bào)告顯示，一半以上30至40歲的未婚成年人以及44%的40至44歲的未婚成年人仍然和父母住在一起。

The report, which was released at the end of March, caused a stir in the country, fueling the popular stereotype that the kangaroo tribe is made up of South Koreans who have failed to achieve success in life. The report noted that 42 percent of children who live with their parents are unemployed, and mainstream media coverage featured images of exhausted older parents accompanied by carefree, unemployed adult children.

這份報(bào)告于三月底發(fā)布后，在韓國(guó)引起了不小的震動(dòng)，強(qiáng)化了大眾的刻板印象，即“袋鼠族”是由那些人生不成功的韓國(guó)人組成的。報(bào)告指出，與父母同住的孩子中有42%是無(wú)業(yè)人員，主流媒體的報(bào)道中描繪了疲憊不堪的年長(zhǎng)父母和無(wú)憂無(wú)慮的失業(yè)成年子女的形象。

Despite the recent media attention, however, experts say that it’s long been common for children in South Korea to live with their parents into adulthood.

盡管最近受到了媒體關(guān)注，然而，專家表示，長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，韓國(guó)的孩子與父母一起生活到成年是非常普遍的現(xiàn)象。

"The kangaroo tribe phenomenon is hardly a modern phenomenon in South Korea, since the percentages of adults in their 30s and 40s living with their parents in the 1980s and 2010s do not differ by much,” Kye Bong-oh, a sociology professor at Kookmin University, said.

韓國(guó)國(guó)民大學(xué)的社會(huì)學(xué)教授桂奉武說(shuō)：“袋鼠族現(xiàn)象并非什么新現(xiàn)象，因?yàn)樯鲜兰o(jì)80年代和本世紀(jì)10年代，三四十歲的成年人與父母同住的比例并沒有太大的差別?！?/p>

Furthermore, while a lack of economic independence is often a factor for why children don’t leave the nest, the truth is that many continue to live at home for a variety of reasons, and the kangaroo tribe phenomenon is not as simple and one-sided as often depicted in popular culture.

此外，雖然缺乏經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立往往是孩子們不離巢的一個(gè)因素，但實(shí)際上，許多人出于各種原因繼續(xù)住在家里，“袋鼠族”現(xiàn)象并不像流行文化中經(jīng)常描繪的那樣簡(jiǎn)單和片面。

For some adult children, the arrangement allows them to care for their aging parents more easily, while also saving money for the future. Others, particularly single women, cite their parents’ conservative views as a reason for not moving out.

對(duì)有些成年子女來(lái)說(shuō)，這種安排讓他們可以更容易照料他們年邁的父母，同時(shí)也能為將來(lái)存點(diǎn)錢。還有些人，尤其是單身女性，則把父母的保守觀點(diǎn)作為不搬出去的理由。

Song Jung-hyun, 36, and Nang Yoon-jin, 33, for example, have long possessed the financial resources to live on their own. Both women work as teachers at a public middle school in Seoul, which is one of the most sought-after careers in the country. But their parents believe women should only move out when they get married.

舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，36歲的宋貞賢和33歲的南允真早就擁有了獨(dú)立生活的經(jīng)濟(jì)來(lái)源。兩位女性都在首爾的一所公立中學(xué)擔(dān)任教師，這是該國(guó)最受歡迎的職業(yè)之一。但她們的父母認(rèn)為，女性只有在結(jié)婚后才應(yīng)該搬出去住。

"My parents think that the world is a dangerous place for a woman to live by herself,” Song said.

宋貞賢說(shuō)：“我父母認(rèn)為這個(gè)世界對(duì)獨(dú)自生活的女性來(lái)說(shuō)太危險(xiǎn)了?！?/p>

For many single people, living with their parents could be stifling. Both Song and Nang said they are happy with the arrangement, however, emphasizing its practical benefits.

對(duì)大多數(shù)單身人士而言，和父母住在一起可能會(huì)令人感到壓抑。但是宋貞賢和南允真說(shuō)她們對(duì)這種安排很滿意，甚至還強(qiáng)調(diào)了這么做帶來(lái)的實(shí)際好處。

"My mom still makes me breakfast and pays for the living expenses and utility bills. Not much has changed from when I was a student, other than the fact that I am working now,” Nang said. “My mom wants me to save up money in preparation for getting married.”

“我媽媽依然給我做早飯，支付生活費(fèi)和水電費(fèi)。和我上學(xué)時(shí)候相比，除了我現(xiàn)在在工作之外，沒有什么變化?！?南允真說(shuō)?！拔覌寢屜Ｍ野彦X攢下來(lái)，為結(jié)婚做準(zhǔn)備?！?/p>

Song said living with her parents has also allowed her to save time and money, since she doesn’t have to worry about doing her own laundry or other household chores. Moreover, when she needs advice or wants to discuss important issues, her parents are just a quick knock away.

宋貞賢說(shuō)，與父母同住也讓她節(jié)省了時(shí)間和金錢，因?yàn)樗槐刈约合匆路蜃銎渌覄?wù)。此外，當(dāng)她需要建議或想討論重大問題時(shí)，父母近在咫尺。

Far from taking advantage of her parents’ continued generosity, she said, the situation is mutually beneficial.

她說(shuō)，這種情況并非只是“啃老”，而是“雙贏”。

"It’s not just me who enjoys this living arrangement. My parents really appreciate having me around as well,” she said. “As my parents are getting older, they find certain things very challenging — like using their smartphones and doing online banking. Since we live together, I help out a lot with those. My parents often tell me that they cannot imagine living without me.”

“享受這種生活安排的不僅僅是我。我父母也非常感謝有我在身邊，”她說(shuō)?！半S著我父母年齡增大，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)某些事情非常具有挑戰(zhàn)性——比如使用智能手機(jī)和網(wǎng)上銀行。由于我們住在一起，我在這些方面幫了很多忙。我的父母經(jīng)常跟我說(shuō)，他們無(wú)法想象沒有我的生活?！?/p>

The term “kangaroo tribe” entered the popular lexicon in South Korea in the early 2000s, a period of high unemployment among young people, in which many recent college graduates continued to live with their parents because they were unable to find work.

2000年伊始，“袋鼠族”一詞進(jìn)入了韓國(guó)的流行詞匯，那是一個(gè)年輕人失業(yè)率很高的時(shí)期，許多剛畢業(yè)的大學(xué)生因?yàn)檎也坏焦ぷ鞫^續(xù)與父母住在一起。

Between 1997 and 1998, the youth unemployment rate skyrocketed from 5.7 percent to 12.2 percent, before falling slightly to 8.1 percent in 2000, according to the national statistics office. In 2020, the youth unemployment rate in South Korea stood at 9 percent.

根據(jù)韓國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的數(shù)據(jù)，1997年至1998年期間，青年失業(yè)率從5.7%猛增到12.2%，然后在2000年略微下降到8.1%。2020年，韓國(guó)的青年失業(yè)率為9%。

But whereas people used to belittle members of the kangaroo tribe for being socially and financially inept, Kye said the stigma has begun to wane.

盡管人們?cè)?jīng)輕視“袋鼠族”，認(rèn)為他們?cè)谏鐣?huì)和經(jīng)濟(jì)上無(wú)能，但桂奉武表示，這種污名已經(jīng)開始減弱。

"People are now aware that economic independence at this day and age is increasingly difficult to achieve,” he said.

他說(shuō)：“人們已經(jīng)開始意識(shí)到，如今這個(gè)年代，經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立越來(lái)越難實(shí)現(xiàn)了。”

Lee Chul-hee, an economics professor at Seoul National University, noted that South Korea’s economy has made achieving financial independence and living on one’s own increasingly challenging for the younger generation.

首爾國(guó)立大學(xué)的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教授李喆熙指出，韓國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)使得年輕一代越來(lái)越難以實(shí)現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立和獨(dú)立生活。

"Housing prices in big cities including Seoul have sharply increased since 2000, while the job market has become highly unstable, with an increased number of temporary job hires,” Lee said. “These factors all make it much more difficult for people in their 30s and 40s to move out of their parents’ home and be independent.”

李喆熙表示：“2000年以后，首爾等大城市的房?jī)r(jià)急劇上漲，而就業(yè)市場(chǎng)高度不穩(wěn)定，臨時(shí)工作雇用的人數(shù)增加，這些因素都大大增加了三四十歲的人從父母家搬出去獨(dú)立生活的難度。”

Given the fact that his son has never had a stable job, Lee Young-wook is confident that he is making the right choice not to pressure his son to move out.

鑒于兒子從來(lái)沒有過一份穩(wěn)定的工作，李英宇確信他不給兒子施加壓力讓他搬出去是正確的選擇。

"My wife and I want to be like a big mountain that our son could always lean on to,” he said. “I won’t be worried at all about him until he is at least 35.”

“我妻子和我想成為兒子能依靠的大山，”他說(shuō)。“至少在他35歲之前，我不會(huì)為他擔(dān)心?！?/p>

英文來(lái)源：美國(guó)全國(guó)廣播公司新聞網(wǎng)

翻譯&編輯：丹妮