“Husband buried in debt paying for in-laws’ golf” ... Daughter-in-law living with her in-laws speaks out [What do you think?]

[The Financial News] A woman has described her distress, saying her husband, who had been covering his parents’ living expenses as well as their golf and dermatology bills, has even resorted to juggling credit card payments. She says that although she has lived with her in-laws for more than a year and taken on all the housework, their financial demands have continued.
On the 14th, a post describing conflict with in-laws was published on NOW Talk, an anonymous online community for office workers. It was titled, “Everyone says stories about in-laws are made up. Take a look—is this serious?”
The author, identified as A, asked other users for their opinions, saying she was having a hard time because of her in-laws’ attitudes toward money and way of life.
According to A, her father-in-law, who used to work for a large corporation, has no savings for retirement. A and her husband currently live with his parents in their home in Gyeongsang Province, and she says her father-in-law makes a show of the fact that he provides them with a place to live.
She said her father-in-law also frequently interferes. Even when a gust of wind simply slammed a door shut, he would call A over and teach her how to close it. He would also repeat the same thing five or more times until she answered, she said.
She said they received no help with getting a home of their own as newlyweds. With no retirement savings, her father-in-law told them, “Since we can’t help you with money, live in our house, save up, and then move out.”
She said the financial burden also falls mainly on her husband. Her father-in-law says he has no money because his business failed, and is currently asking A and her husband for 1.5 million won a month in living expenses.
Her husband had been sending his parents 3 million won every month even before he got married. A claimed that her in-laws used the money to enjoy golfing, and that her husband is now juggling credit card bills by paying one card with another.
She said her father-in-law often stays home all day, watching a particular YouTube program from morning until evening. A also said that conversations with him eventually turn to politics.
Her mother-in-law’s spending habits were another concern for A. Her mother-in-law, who had been a full-time homemaker all her life, had apparently never saved money of her own.
A claimed that her mother-in-law enjoys shopping so much that she buys clothes almost every day. Although she could not contribute to the cost of her son’s wedding, she spends money on clothes and shoes for herself and on visits to a dermatology clinic, A said.
A said her mother-in-law had even borrowed clothes from her, and had also said she wanted to work as a “senior model,” saying she wanted to contribute to the household finances.
She said her mother-in-law’s attitude did not change even when she brought up her husband’s debt. According to A, even after she explained that her husband could no longer cope with the debt, her mother-in-law replied, “What can you do?”
A said her in-laws use her husband’s credit card to pay for living expenses, claiming that food for a family of four costs 2 million won a month.
A said that despite both her and her husband working, she had taken care of all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry for more than a year, even folding her father-in-law’s underwear. Still, she complained that her mother-in-law tells her she does not do the housework properly.
She also cited a lack of courtesy between the two families as a source of frustration. She said her in-laws did not send anything in return even when her family sent traditional wedding dishes and other gifts.
A said that although her mother-in-law often complains that she is unwell, she regularly takes care of her appearance and goes out, visiting hair salons and driving herself to meet friends.
A claimed that her husband’s debt keeps growing as he covers her in-laws’ expenses. “Because of my in-laws’ spending and their debts, my husband keeps paying off debt with more debt,” she said, expressing her frustration.
People who saw the post suggested that the couple live separately from his parents or said they should have checked the family’s financial situation before getting married. They responded, “With a family like this, it would have been 100% obvious before the wedding—shouldn’t they have checked?”, “They’d probably save money easily if they moved out,” and “They need to set up their own household. Why are they living like that?”
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