Cho Young-won, 53-year-old man running his own business, plans to live separately from his two children after he retires and his children get married. 

``Living together will be a burden not only to my children and their new spouses but also to me and my wife, as each couple needs privacy. Also, I have enough money to support myself,'' Cho said. 

Almost eight out of 10 elderly do not want to live with their children after retirement, according to a survey. 

The survey conducted by the Korean Association of Retired Persons (KARP) said that 78 percent of people aged over 50 hope to live separately from their children after they stop working. 

The association conducted the research about the cultural consciousness of the elderly on about 231 people aged 50 and over from Dec. 15 to Jan. 8 on the occasion of its fourth anniversary. 

Eighty-five percent of those aged between 50 and 55 said they do not want to live with their children, while 65 percent of people aged 70 and over said they want to live with the children. 

``The main reason for their willingness to live separately from their children is economic independence. Those in their 50s and 60s, who were born in 1940s and 1950s, have enough money to manage their lives without their children's help,'' Kim Sun-kyung, a staff member of the KARP, said. 

But as seen in the survey, people in their 70s and over are not economically independent, and thus need to rely on their children, Kim added. 

Some 77 percent of those aged 50-55 said they pay their living expenses from salary or business revenue, but 39 percent of those aged 70 and over said they receive financial help from their children. 

Another factor in separate living is the change in parent/child relationships, she said. 

``These adults do not think that it is obligatory to have their parents with them, and parents do not think that way either. Each generation has become independent and individualistic,'' she said. 

Regarding the amount of money needed to live comfortably after retirement, 27 percent of the respondents said 400-600 million won would be fine, while 20 percent said 300-400 million won, and 19 percent, 100-200 million won. About 16 percent answered they may need more than 1 billion won to maintain a stable life. 

When asked what they want to hand over to the children, 37 percent of the people said houses or real estate, and 33 percent said the money which can support the children. Only 20 percent of them said they want to leave the `wisdom of living' to their children.