Kim, a 37-year-old office worker in Gyeonggi Province, spends much of his monthly pay repaying a loan he took out to buy a home when he married two years ago. His wife has a loan of her own, adding to the couple’s repayment burden. “We had to borrow to cover housing and wedding costs, even with help from our parents,” Kim said. “With interest rates rising, I’m worried our payments will grow. After paying for utilities, phone bills and basic living expenses, we put most of our pay toward the loans.” Rising home prices, rents and wedding costs are leaving more newlyweds like Kim with sizable debts. Figures released on Monday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics show that the median outstanding loan balance among couples in their first marriage who have been married for no more than five years more than doubled over eight years. In particular, high-value loans of at least 300 million won ($221,000) have become much more common, particularly among couples who own a home. The median outstanding balance stood at 179 million won in 2024, up 5 percent from a year earlier and 130.1