Weekend couples as a manifestation of gender equality? Household labour and subjective well-being of wives and husbands among Korean weekend couples

Some wives and husbands maintain separate residences. This form of couple is understood as a major transition in the gender arrangement of work and family. Using a sample of “weekend couples,” where Korean wives and husbands live separately, this study (1) compared weekend and typical couples in time spent on housework, and (2) examined whether time on housework is associated with life satisfaction in weekend and typical couples. I found that, while women in weekend couples spend much less time on household chores compared to women in typical couples, men in weekend couples assign more time to housework compared to their counterparts. Additionally, I found that, for women in both weekend and typical couples, more household tasks are related to lower levels of general satisfaction. The results suggest that maintaining separate residences may balance time use patterns between two partners, which could have important implications for the subjective well-being of weekend couples.