A Confucian War over Childcare? Practice and Policy in Childcare and Their Implications for Understanding the Korean Gender Regime

Abstract

We ask about the development of childcare policies in Korea and what these mean for our understanding of the gender assumptions of Korean governments. Women's labour market participation has been increasing rapidly, with married women now much more likely to be in the labour market. The provision and regulation around support for women's employment, and especially for mothers' employment, is a key issue and problem for Korean women and for governments. A number of policies give the impression that the Korean government is moving rapidly towards a policy for reconciling work and family based on a dual-earner model of the family. But we argue that a close inspection of these policies suggests that the state is still playing a residual role, legislation is not effectively implemented, and government is giving way to the private sector and to the family in responsibility for childcare. Mothers' accounts of their lives centre on a childcare war played out beneath the apparently harmonious Confucian surface, with resisting husbands supported by powerful mothers-in-law, and daily struggles over the management of services. The Korean government and its policy-makers, far from moving rapidly towards a dual-earner model of the family, are still rooted in Confucian ideals.

Gender Differences in Health Literacy Among Korean Adults

“…In fact, women in the current study reported more depressive symptoms and chronic diseases than men. Another explanation may be relevant to women's traditional role of caring for sick family members and children (Arber & Ginn, 1995;Stimpson, Jensen, & Neff, 1992;Won & Pascall, 2004). This traditional gender expectation may provide women with more interactions with the healthcare system, giving them more opportunities to build their knowledge base, and therefore resulting in higher health literacy levels than those of men.…”

“Who Cares for the Children?” Lessons from a Global Perspective of Child Care Policy

“…However, as Lewis (2008) highlights in her discourse on child care choice, the need and desire for dual incomes and the growth of single parent families have changed these roles within families in many industrialized countries. Thus, as the policies that nations have put into effect to support child care are examined, one can repeatedly observe the tension between traditional values, national ideologies, and the realistic need for child care accommodations for families (Fagnani 2007;Lambert 2007;Lewis 2008;Murphy-Lawless 2000;Won and Pascall 2004). Research on child care policy and family is inextricably linked with studies on national identity, labor markets, gender equality, and economics, thus revealing a complex mixture of factors and ideals that combine to form family policies (Martin 2007;Mickucka 2008).…”

Chinese and Korean mothers in England: motherhood, gender and employment

“…Additionally, Cho and Kwon (2010) point out the lack of job security for the majority of women in Korea, with over 67% of female workers involved in non-standard employment due to employers' discriminatory attitudes towards women. Consonant with these, the studies of both Sung (2003) and Won and Pascall (2004) elucidate the difficulties that Korean working mothers face owing to the strong influence of Confucian ideals. According to these authors, an array of policy reforms have been made in Korea in order to assist the increasing number of employed women with dependent children.…”