Even with unemployment spiking as the coronavirus pandemic swept South Korea in February, Baek Seung-min asked his wife to quit her nursing job to help reach a dream they had spent a lifetime chasing: buying their own apartment.
The 35-year-old interior designer said giving up his wife's 58 million won ($48,000) salary would improve their chances of securing a property after the government introduced a host of measures aimed at cooling rampant property prices.
The unusual plan was to cut his wife's income for a while so the couple's annual earnings were low enough to be eligible for a quota system in new property developments designed to give more low-income newlyweds access to housing.