Author: Kateřina Kolářová
Address: Chungnam National University, Yuseong, Daejeon, 305-764, Korea
E-mail: kolarkaca@gmail.com
Language: Czech
Issue: 1/2020
Page Range: 90–111
No. of Pages: 22
Keywords: adolescence, birth rate, childbirth, children and youth, family, gender, parenting, Republic of Korea
Abstract: This paper discusses child rearing in the Republic of Korea. Koreans believe that parenting begins in the prenatal period, when the foetus is first exposed to the influences that shape it. The Korean education system is a vital part of the lives of children and youths, as well as adults, because through educational attainment people can access dream jobs and acquire social status. At the same time, there has been a shift in the perception of rituals related to education and family life in the context of societal changes and the effects of multiculturalism. The paper also explores the current low birth rate in Korea. Readers are presented with an overview of the history of Korean families along with rituals related to development from the prenatal period to adolescence. Narrators retrospectively describe their childhood experiences and reflect on raising their own children.
Česká verze: Transformace korejské výchovy – HTML
Introduction
The family is one of the most important institutions in an individual’s life. The family introduces us to the rules of the world, how to move in it and what to expect from it. It influences our thinking and draws us into the mysteries of culture and cultural patterns. Family upbringing is thus one of the formative forces that shape a person.
Other cultures differ from each other in many ways and so do their concepts of family. Už jenom samotný pojem rodina, a koho za rodinu považujeme, je rozdílný v každém kulturním prostředí. Jinak to není ani s výchovou, která je také ovlivňována kulturou, náboženstvím, morálními hodnotami nebo multikulturalismem.
Práce se zabývá výchovou dětí a mládeže u konkrétní etnické skupiny. A jaká výchova by mohla být zajímavější než výchova v zemi s nejnižší hodnotou plodnosti na světě. Korejská republika prošla za svoji historii neuvěřitelnou transformací. The war-torn Republic of Korea took an incredible turn after the war in the 1950s (even being referred to as the „Miracle on the Han River“), and with its economy now world-class, it has managed to climb the ranks of the so-called Asian Tigers.
Korean upbringing
Many ceremonies and traditions were practiced on the Korean peninsula, and some are still practiced in various forms today. Koreans are very superstitious, especially when it comes to children. The purpose of the traditions tends to be to protect the child, as there has been a very high infant mortality rate in the past, but also to ensure that the child grows up well and is successful, well-educated and wealthy in life.
Pregnancy
Korean education begins in pregnancy. Traditionally, the expectant mother first announces her pregnancy to her mother-in-law, husband and then to her own mother. In Korea, the connection between a mother and her child is very important. There is talk of a so-called tchägjo (태교). The first syllable in this word means fruit and the second syllable means education. The teachings of tchägjo are a kind of collection of prenatal practices that should protect both mother and child from anything bad during pregnancy and childbirth. It is even believed that the actions of the mother-to-be during pregnancy will affect the child’s entire life.[1]
Tchägjo. Tchägjo came to Korea from China during the Koryo Dynasty, but gained its greatest popularity in the Joseon Dynasty. With the teachings of tchägjo come many rules. Some rules are mostly taken for granted in Western culture, while others are very strange to our „Western world“. Of course, a pregnant woman should not smoke or drink alcohol. But these rules also say that a woman is influenced by her environment, what she feels, what food she eats and what things she looks at.[2]
A pregnant woman should be in a comfortable and calm environment. Traditionally, she should not look at ugly and dead things, but only at beautiful ones, because everything she feels or sees can reflect on her unborn child. Bad news could even be kept secret by her family so that the woman would not be stressed. Of course, the family should take good care of the mother. Mothers should sing, tell stories or read fairy tales to the fetus. After the story is read, the family should get together and talk further about the story.[3]
Nowadays, especially the older generations insist on strict adherence to tchägjo. A woman, often more than her own mother, is advised by her mother-in-law. But prenatal teaching is also popular with the young. Women try to be in a calm and beautiful environment. They look at beautiful objects to make their baby beautiful. They listen to classical music and the sounds of nature. They sing and read stories and fairy tales, during which emotions should be emphasized.[4]
In tchägjo there was also an interesting connection with Christianity. Mothers nowadays often tell fetal stories from the Bible and sometimes sing hymns. Yoga has become a very popular exercise and is recommended from the fifth month of pregnancy onwards. Another modern innovation are the classes that expectant mothers can attend.[5]
A popular practice is giving a nickname/name to the unborn child, or tchämjong (태명). Names like „Happy“ or names associated with health are very common. People believe that the nickname will bring good luck to the unborn child and the birth will go well. But there are also nicknames that are related to the place of conception or a favourite animal. A baby conceived in Europe may have a prenatal nickname such as „Euro“.
Korean age counting. Korean age measurement is also related to the belief in the importance of prenatal development. Koreans automatically include the prenatal period in age, since the fetus in the abdomen is already the embryo of a human being.
There is another peculiarity with age for Koreans. Koreans do not add another year on their birthday, but on the New Lunar Year. This system originally originated in China and later spread to e.g. Korea and Japan. It can happen that a baby born at the end of the calendar year is 2 years old after two months of life. Therefore, when meeting Koreans, the question is not „How old are you?“ but „When were you born?“. This is because the first question could lead to misunderstanding between a Korean and a foreigner.[6]
But that doesn’t mean that Koreans don’t celebrate birthdays. There is a celebration on the day of birth, but 1 year is usually added to the New Lunar Year.
Eating in pregnancy. The expectant mother was not allowed to eat duck, because the baby could be born with membranes between the fingers, or tofu, because tofu is not strong and it is important for the survival of the baby that the baby is as strong as possible. In the same way that ingesting duck meat could cause babies to develop duck membranes between the toes, it was believed that by frequently ingesting eggs a baby would be born without a backbone or with boils, after eating rabbit meat a baby would be born with red eyes, and if a mother ate squid her baby would be born without bones.[7]
Childbirth. During childbirth, women were given a washcloth to bite into. In the birthing room, ropes were attached from the ceiling for the mother to hold on to in order to make the birth easier. The woman should be quiet during labour to concentrate on transmitting the energy.[8]
The mother and child were kept in seclusion for up to 100 days, again related to the earlier high infant mortality rate. This is no longer the rule today. What is still customary, however, is the seaweed soup that mothers consume to gain strength, recover from childbirth and get rid of lochia (fluid flowing out of the uterus after childbirth) and increase breast milk production. In extreme cases, they eat this soup three times a day for 4 months.[9]
Seaweed soup can later be used as the equivalent of the Czech „you live under my roof“ when Korean mothers say „I ate seaweed soup because of you, so you will listen to me“.
First Birthday. In the past, the first birthday was associated not only with the birthday celebration itself, but also with the celebration that the child survived the risky first year from birth.
Infant mortality used to be very high and, in addition to the annual birthday, the 100th day was celebrated – pägil (literally the 100th day). To celebrate the 100th day, the family prepared a special feast. The feast was dedicated to one of the goddesses of Korean shamanism – Grandma Samsin, who in Korean mythology is the goddess of birth and destiny[10].[11]
If the child is ill at the time of the 100th day, the celebration will not take place. Nowadays, with improved health care and lower infant mortality, people are focusing more on first birthday celebrations tol.[12]
Tol can be a generic name for any birthday, just prefix tol with the digit.
Tol as a first birthday celebration traditionally has 4 different parts:
- Prayer and thanksgiving
- Wearing traditional clothing
- Feast table and tolžabi
- Holiday feast
People pray to the Sansin and Samsin halmoni gods in the first phase.[13] The first phase is a women’s affair, as women prepare the festive table. Rice, seaweed soup and clean water must be on the table. Then either the mother or the grandmother of the child prays by joining palms and repeated bows.[14]
The second phase consists of dressing in traditional clothes hanbok. Hanbok is generally called Korean colorful traditional clothing. Clothing for a birthday party is called tolbok. Tolboks are very colorful and consist of several parts. These parts vary by gender, but each boy and girl has a belt that is wrapped twice around the child and a small wallet. A belt for long life and a wallet for good luck. Girls get long skirts and boys get trousers.[15]
In the third stage, the family prepares a festive table, which includes rice cakes, seaweed soup and various fruits. Many kinds of rice cakes and fruits can be prepared – it depends on the season and conditions in which the child’s birthday is celebrated. The family also prepares „rainbow rice cakes“ mudžigä ttŏk (무지개떡), colorful cookies that are arranged like a rainbow on the table. They are meant to symbolize the balance of the child’s personality and the harmony of all the elements which are: fire, water, air, metal and earth.[16]
Even when celebrating a first birthday, the strong Korean belief in symbolism is evident. Flowers may decorate the table, but they must never be cut, as cutting and shortening the flower would mean shortening the life of the child being celebrated. Food should be served in bronze vessels representing a bright future.
The child is then seated at the table on a mattress or pillows so that the family can get a good view of the child and the tolžabi (돌잡이) ritual can begin. This ritual has the task of determining the future of the child. During the tolžabi, a bowl with several objects is placed in front of the child. These objects symbolize individual achievements in life. The items in the bowls are variable and vary from ceremony to ceremony. However, they usually relate to the same areas: money, studies, success in sports or career. Many such examples can be identified, but among the most common are: coin, rice – money, arrow or bow – sport, pencil, book, calligraphy brush – study, hammer – high-ranking official, noodle – long life or rice cake – health. Nowadays, there may also be a microphone that predicts a child to become a celebrity, a stethoscope to become a doctor or a golf ball that replaces the bow and arrow, predicting success in sports. But sporting achievements are also a relatively new thing. In the past, a bow or arrow meant that a child would become a distinguished fighter.[17]
Figure 1. First birthday celebration
Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/…3/
After the “ tolžabi“ ritual is over, it is time for a festive feast for the whole family and friends. It is customary for everyone to wish the child all the best and present him with a gift such as a toy or a gold ring. The gold ring is not for the child to wear, but so that in the future the parents can sell it and afford an expensive education.
Nowadays, the whole first birthday celebration and “ tolžabi“ is mainly an opportunity for parents to take beautiful pictures of their offspring in traditional clothes. Families go to prearranged parlours that specialise in the ceremony. Companies offer several costumes for parents for their offspring, including children’s costumes of the king, general, groom or bride.
The form of celebrating first birthdays has also changed. Apart from studios where parents can have their children photographed, the subsequent celebration looks more Western. Restaurants are rented where the family and their loved ones gather, a cake with candles is ordered and after the candles are blown out it is time for the “ tolžabi“.[18]
The result of the “ tolžabi“ ceremony can be remembered even during the lifetime of the individual. There may be parental remorse reminding the child of what he or she chose during the ceremony. Why is the son so bad at sports when he chose the bow or it is clear that he chose the pencil during the ceremony because he is doing well in school and excelling.
Childhood
The education of boys and girls used to be different. At the age of 6, boys and girls used to be strictly separated. Girls were brought up to be obedient and to help at home. Women gave birth as long as they were fertile. This meant that girls had to help with the children, gaining experience that they could use with their future offspring.[19]
Boys used to learn to read and write Korean and sometimes Chinese script. Girls were not taught to write, probably because they went to their husband’s house when they were married and it may have been an unnecessary investment for their parents. Also because of this reason (that girls went to their husband’s house after marriage), daughters had a lower position in the family than sons.
The pressure on children in terms of education is enormous in Korea and often starts even before they start school. For mothers of preschoolers, preparatory books are available for purchase to teach their children all sorts of skills (fine motor skills, strokes, writing, English).[20]
Household rules. In the earlier society, when a man spent time away from home to earn money, there was nothing left for the mother to do but look after the entire household. Boys were taught how to be stronger and girls in turn did housework and helped raise the children. The family rules or household rules were thus strictly given. This is of course changing in modern society, although we can notice the existing influence of Confucianism. Aside from the stereotyping of Korean fathers (which will be discussed below), the biggest issue is the position of daughters in the family. One might assume that in economically developed countries the issue of gender imbalance would be outdated (especially in a social group such as the family), but unfortunately it is still a persistent problem in Korea. Daughters have to follow different, stricter rules in the household than their brothers.[21]
Probably the biggest surprise during my second visit to the Republic of Korea was an informal evening meeting with a group of students from a local university. Around 10pm, a girl of about 25 got up and went home because her parents had ordered her to stay up past curfew. This practice is more common than it might seem. Of the students interviewed, none had had a curfew in college, but they did mention their friends and, in the case of boys, their sisters who still had or had a curfew at that age.
The role of father. According to Confucianism, there were five main relationships: between ruler and minister, husband and wife, younger and older brothers, friends, and father and son. Confucianism had a great influence on the perception of the roles of men and women in everyday life. In Confucianism, importance was placed on authoritative and respectable extroverted husbands and loving submissive wives.[22]
Confucian methods resulted in the construction of psychological and physical boundaries between the sexes. In a more positive light, some authors describe early Korean women as assertive, highly valued financial managers of the family and the ones who make all the decisions in the family.
In the past, the mother was the most important in terms of upbringing, with the father bringing money into the household. This left the woman to take care of the household, spend the family budget, and raise the children. The man represented the outer sphere of the family, while the woman represented the inner sphere. The man was very much seen as the breadwinner, spending time working or relaxing in between. In society, this resulted in the father’s lack of involvement in the upbringing of the children as well as his lack of involvement in the rest of the household. This situation is changing nowadays, women no longer want to be in the home all their lives and go to work. This is changing the old roles of women and men in the family.[23]
The changing society and changes in the social roles of fathers and mothers are the subject of much research. In Korea, the changing family roles of men and women are said to be most pronounced for men currently in their 30s and 40s. These men have yet to experience the generation of strongly authoritarian fathers and their submissive wives, but current society is pressuring them not to emulate their parents‘ behavior. They grew up in a time when men received concessions in exchange for money earned in the form of being able to take no part in the upbringing of their children. But now they live in a society that is beginning to focus on the man not as the leader of the family but as a member of a functioning unit.[24]
School attendance
That education is important is no surprise. Moreover, education plays a strong social role in Korea. The competitive nature of Korea’s education system begins to show with the start of the first grade in school, but the tension increases many times over in high school – in preparation for the college entrance exams – and eases again for a while in college.[25]
Already in primary schools, children have many clubs. The most common are: sports, English and piano lessons. It is in primary school that, because there is less pressure, children have time to pursue activities that they have to give up later in secondary school. In primary school, children spend about 5-6 hours in lessons, then in middle school they spend about 7 hours in school. Classes start between half past eight and nine o’clock.
Parents push their children to study and it is very common for students to go to study halls after school and then go home in the evening.
Parents pay for their offspring to study in the so-called „hagwǒn“ (학원). Jedná se o privátní vzdělávací instituce, do kterých po skončení výuky ve škole mohou děti již od školky docházet za účelem dalšího studia a prohloubení poznatků. Students generally prefer „hagwǒns“ because they learn more there than in schools and are more effective in learning. The „hagwǒns“ are paid and their services are customer-oriented. This is appreciated by the students; teachers tend to be more dedicated to their work, better prepared for teaching and more respectful of their students‘ opinions.
„Hagwǒns“ vary in form depending on the fees parents have to pay for these private lessons. The wealthiest families pay for their offspring to have private lessons where the child is alone with his or her tutor, but other children have lessons with a larger number of students. Even the poorest families sacrifice their hard-earned money into furthering their children’s education because they believe that education is the foundation and one of the most important steps to a happy life for their children. But the fact remains that without private tutoring and extra hours of learning after school, children have no chance to succeed.[26]
University entrance exams. High school students experience the most pressure during the college entrance exam period. This exam, sometimes referred to as the „Korean SAT,“ is called „Tähaksuhaknǔngnjǒk sihŏm“ in Korea (대학수학능력시험), abbreviated as Sunǔng (수능). Also used is the English translation of the full name „College Scholastic Ability Test“, abbreviated CSAT.
The day of trial is the day when the whole country stops. It is the most important day in a student’s life, it is because of this day that children study all their lives and sacrifice all their free time to study. That’s why parents pay exorbitant amounts for private lessons and children study till midnight.
„Sunǔng“ is not the only way to get into college, other ways include overall high school grades, volunteering or activities within the school, or an essay.
The sunǔng rehearsal is held every year in November and lasts approximately 8 hours. It consists of several tests in different subjects. The strands are: Korean, mathematics, English, Korean history, social sciences or vocational subjects and a second language. Depending on the results of the exam, students have the opportunity to apply to various universities, and only those with the best results can apply to elite universities. The 3 most prestigious universities (SKY) are Sŏul National University, Korjǒ University and Jǒnse University.[27]. The reason why people want to go to SKY University so much, apart from the social position, is the prospect of a good job. Graduating from these universities increases the possibility of getting a job in one of the so-called „chaebol companies“.[28] There are many large companies that drive the Korean economy, among the most famous are LG, Hyundai, Lotte and Samsung. But the truth is that jobs in these companies are limited and even SKY universities cannot guarantee a job.
One could say that there is currently competition among some universities in the Czech Republic, but this situation is completely incomparable to the elitism of universities in Korea. Students may be looked down upon in society for attending a college that is ranked low in the college rankings, but this looking down on students for attending a non-elite college may continue into work or when seeking love relationships. According to Miriam Löwensteinová, parents also suffer from failure at university. The moment a child does not go to university, the whole family is shamed, and the father’s career may also suffer from the child’s failure. But those who fail or are not satisfied with their result can retake the exam after a year. Up to 20% retake the exam, some several times to achieve the desired results.[29]
During the exam, some parents wait in a church or Buddhist temple to pray for their offspring’s success or wait outside the school gates. Some companies move up the start of working hours to reduce traffic on the roads, students who arrive late for the exam may be given a police patrol with a bullhorn, and no planes are flown during the English listening part of the exam.
Figure 2. Students during the sunǔng exam
Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/…photostream/
Other students, who are not yet affected by the exam, stand outside the school gates shouting various slogans, holding posters and banners and handing out „jŏt“ (엿) candy to students taking the exam. „Jŏt“ is a traditional candy most often made from rice, corn or sweet potatoes. It has a very sticky consistency and, in a figurative sense, it is said that eating jŏt will make one’s luck stick or make students‘ knowledge stick better in their heads. Some students even consume these toffees at home before exams and, conversely, avoid the traditional seaweed soup. Seaweed is slippery in consistency and knowledge could slip out of their heads. This is another case of sympathetic positive ritual in Korea. It is believed that by inflicting like on like (a sticky cookie to stick good luck) will produce an effect.[30]
Some students report that their teachers had to come to school that day wearing sneakers so that the sound of clicking heels could not disturb the students taking the exam.
University
After entering university, most students feel a great sense of relief. In the first years, the pressure is relieved and students do not have to stress so much. Despite the amount of assignments and required reading, the pressure is still less than in high school. In college, they no longer have to attend classes in uniform, students can dye their hair, and by frequently moving to other cities for college, they are not under as much parental supervision.[31]
Korean campuses tend to be huge. It’s no surprise that colleges have their own dorms, cafeterias, gyms and libraries, but Korean campuses also have their own restaurants, shops, fountains and parks. Korean campuses tend to be so large that some have bus services that transport students from one end of the campus to the other during term time.
Nearby are student towns with plenty of shops, bars, restaurants and karaoke bars where students can spend their free time. Karaoke bars – in Korean language norebang[32] (노래방, nore – singing, bang – room) – are popular evening entertainment.
Student dormitories in Korea are gender divided. Advanced security features such as fingerprint or arm bones in conjunction with a personal code are used to enter dormitory buildings. Keys to individual rooms are also passé. Korean houses and dormitory or hotel rooms have a box on the door for entering a code.
In addition to the dorms, college students live in hasukdžib (하숙집). JThese are apartments for students or workers with a shared bathroom and kitchen with a female housekeeper adžuma (아줌마)[33]. Adžuma live in or near the same building as the tenant. She manages the apartment, prepares meals for her tenants twice a day and sometimes does their laundry. The biggest disadvantage of hasukdžib is that the housekeepers tend to be older women and do not post their offers on the internet.
Even cheaper accommodation options are gosiwŏns (고시원), these are very similar to hasukdžibu. These are also private rooms, mostly with shared bathrooms and kitchens, but depending on the rental price, there are gosiwŏns with private bathrooms and kitchens. The difference is the housekeeper „ajuma“ who is in „hasukjib“ but not in „gosiwŏn“. But the „gosiwŏns“ provide free rice, kimchi[34], seaweed and sometimes instant noodles.
Koreans most often graduate with a bachelor’s degree. If they want to further their education, they opt for certificates or courses that will help them the most when looking for a job later on. A very important exam in college is the English exam, and even during the summer some students stay on campus and attend summer language classes. Master’s degree courses are for those who are pursuing academic work, medicine or law. [35]
Young adults
Pre-marital relationships. The description of premarital relationships cannot be generalized, of course, but on average Koreans get their first experience in this regard around high school. Schools tend to be divided into boys‘ and girls‘ schools; this also means that children and adolescents do not gain experience in communicating with the opposite sex and can be very shy about it. For this reason, group meetings are very common in Korea. Blind dates, which can be arranged by parents or friends, are also popular.[36]
Something Koreans are very fond of is expressions of affection. However, these displays have nothing to do with sexual displays; it is still true that, despite the modernisation of contemporary Korea, Korean society is very conservative and physical touching should be kept to a minimum in public. One may even encounter angry looks from the older generation for bare shoulders in a tank top when visiting Korea in the summer.
Obsession with lovers‘ holidays. Popular expressions of affection among contemporary Korean couples include celebrating various milestones in their lives together or buying the same clothes or accessories. Korean couples not only celebrate every year spent together, but also, for example, the 100th, 200th or 1000th day of dating. High school students are also fond of celebrating the 22nd day, explaining its significance by the fact that the date contains the digit 2 twice, which figuratively means that they are no longer singles but have become a couple. In reality, however, the reason tends to be that high school students‘ relationships tend to be very short and they create „anniversaries“ that they could catch up with their short-term partner before breaking up.[37]
The commercial sector also responded to the popularity of Korean couples celebrating their love and gave birth to Rose Day, Wine Day and Kiss Day. The dates of these days are derived from the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, which lovers celebrate on February 14, all other mentioned lovers‘ holidays are also on the 14th day of the respective months. These days are Diary Day (January), Valentine’s Day (February), White Day (March), Black Day (April), Rose Day (May), Kiss Day (June), Silver Day (July), Green Day (August), Photo Day (September), Wine Day (October), Movie Day (November), Hug Day (December).
Perhaps the most popular after February 14 is March 14, when White Day is celebrated. On Valentine’s Day, Korean women give their sweethearts chocolate, and on White Day they expect something in return from their male counterparts. But basically it is a very commercial holiday, initiated by Japanese companies to increase sales of marshmallows and later white chocolate.[38]
A lovers‘ holiday with a date that is not the 14th of the month is Pepero Day. Together with St. Valentine’s Day and White Day, it completes the imaginary trio of the most celebrated lovers‘ holidays in Korea. The date of Pepero Day falls on November 11. Pepero is a cookie in the form of a bar that is dipped in chocolate. It is essentially a copy of the Japanese Pocky, which hit the market almost 20 years before the Korean version. Both Pepero and Pocky are originally dipped in milk chocolate, but various fruit flavours are being developed, as well as icing made with other biscuits or matcha green tea icing. So why the date 11 November? It is the shape of the biscuits, as the date 11.11. is supposed to symbolize the 4 Pepero biscuits. There is no confirmed origin of this holiday, but it is said to have been started by girls in the city of Busan. The girls used to exchange Pepero to look as skinny as the narrow sticks of Pepero cookies. For the best effect, the bar should be eaten on 11/11 at 11:11 a.m. Supposedly, the company producing Pepero Lotte noticed the increased sales in Busan around November 11 and began marketing it. After 1996, Pepero Day was widely known.[39]
Marriage
Arranged marriages without the consent of the future spouses used to be a common practice. Parents sought for their children those partners whom they themselves considered the best. Arranged marriages were particularly traumatic for women, as traditionally a woman would move into her husband’s home and there care for his aging parents.[40]
The wives were trying to please their husbands, but mostly they had to please their mother-in-law. The mother-in-law determined what work the new wife would do in the house and could even throw her out of the house and send her back to the wife’s parents if the wife disobeyed her mother-in-law. This expulsion was considered a great disgrace. A Korean proverb says that a Korean newlywed should be stupid for three years, blind for three years, and deaf for three years. She should be quiet when her mother-in-law insults her and pretend to be deaf. She shouldn’t say something she might regret later and pretend to be stupid, and she shouldn’t insult anything in the house so she should pretend not to see anything. The newlywed secured her place in the new family only by bringing another son into the house. Only then did she secure respect.[41]
Contemporary Koreans want to break out of these old customs and live a more independent life with the equality of husband and wife.
The crisis of natality. Currently, not only South Korea is associated with very low birth rates and a refusal to find a mate. More and more Koreans do not want to find a partner and voluntarily remain single and do not plan to have children. This generation avoiding dating, marriage and children is called the „sampo generation“ or the „generation of giving up three“ sampo sedä (삼포세대). Even more extreme is opo generation, opo sedä (오포세대) or the „giving up five generation“, where, in addition to abandoning the three aspects of life mentioned above, there is also the abandonment of the idea of employment and property ownership. The problem of the lowest birth rates worldwide may seem simple, but it is a complex issue.
Government programme to reduce the birth rate. The origins of this problem date back to a government programme in the 1970s. After the end of the Korean War, which was fought on the Korean peninsula between 1950 and 1953, South Korean society was focused on agriculture. Fertility rates at that time were as high as 6 children per woman (but the trend of declining fertility can be seen globally over the last 70 years; for comparison, in 1950 the Czech Republic had 2.77 children per woman, and in 2018 1.7).[42]
The Korean peninsula was exhausted not only emotionally but also financially by the war. The ROK therefore decided to strengthen its economy and persuaded its citizens to devote their lives more to work. Therefore, the government launched a program to persuade women not to have more than 2 children. The public responded positively, the idea of a smaller but prosperous family soon caught on and by the 1970s the fertility rate had fallen to 4.5 children per woman.
Posters began to appear in Korea with slogans such as „Sons or daughters. Let’s have only two children and raise them well!“. These posters changed in the 1980s, when the government demanded even greater dedication to the work of its citizens and promoted the one-child policy. Posters began to appear on the streets with the slogan: „Even two children are too much for our overpopulated country.“ These slogans were also a great success and by 1984 the fertility index was already 1.74 children per woman.[43]
While these government programs have improved the Korean economy, which has skyrocketed, it could be argued that the programs to reduce the birth rate have worked too vigorously, and currently South Korea faces the opposite problem, with the government trying to promote the family instead.
Figure 4 – Posters encouraging smaller families.[44]
Study. PFor some, the problem of declining fertility starts with high competition and the stress of studying. Both problems have already been mentioned above. Koreans are under a lot of pressure when studying for college entrance exams. But according to some, the social pressure does not completely disappear in college, as it comes time to start stressing about finding a job, attending academies to get a certificate.
After college, the stress of looking for a job grows even more. The question of whether one has found a job is very common, as Koreans also place themselves in an imaginary social ladder by their job position. Koreans feel heavily indebted to their parents, private lessons are very expensive and they feel that if they fail they will not only let themselves down but especially their parents who often go into debt to provide a good education for their children.
It is because of the problem of competition in Korean schools and the overabundance of clubs, academies and tutoring that parents have to pay for their children to succeed that this financial aspect is another reason why young Koreans now do not want to have children. They realize how much money their parents have invested in them and fear that they will not be able to provide the same luxury to their future children.
The inability to find a job only adds to the reluctance to find a partner; young Koreans say they do not have the time, money, or mental and emotional capacity to date. Many young people consider it essential to have the monetary means to find a partner. Terms such as „not having enough money to go on dates“ or „investing in a partner“ also appear.
Feminism. Another reason for the low birth rate in Korea is the growing feminist movements. According to research, there is a big gap between the number of children a woman would like to have and the number of children a woman actually has. The reasons for this may be that a woman wants to enjoy her life as casually as possible, not having a partner, lack of finances or career. In Korea, there is a direct correlation between work life and family life. Women feel that there is a big difference between what they can do in their working life when they have children and when they don’t. Korean women believe that children and career are mutually exclusive. Some members of the feminist movement say that Korean women are slaves to society and their men.[45]
Many Korean companies avoid employing women with children. They question their loyalty to their employer and also fear that they will not work overtime, which is common practice in Korea. If a woman expresses an interest in going on maternity leave in the near future, there may also be cases of workplace bullying by employers who want to force their female employees to quit.[46]
Boys‘ preferences. Another aspect of low fertility is the preference for boys. This is again linked to the Confucian tradition. It has already been mentioned above that since ancient times Korean society has been purely patrilineal and patriarchal. Through the male line, the name and property are inherited, the men are the ones who bring money into the house, and it is the wives of the men who traditionally were supposed to move into his parents‘ abode and take care of them after marriage. Historically, the preference for boys is also related to the agricultural society of the time, which preferred strong sons who could help the family with the hard work on the farms. It was common for a family to be ashamed of a woman who failed to bear her husband a son, thus failing to fulfill the purpose of a wife and allowing the husband to divorce her.[47]
The desire to preserve the line of sons was so great that if a woman did not bear any sons and her husband did not want to divorce her, the family could adopt a boy from another family. Most often a nephew so that he could continue the family name. In rare cases, it was the daughter’s husband who had to give up the family name. The author, Jiri Janos, considers the adoption of boys from other families to be a purely Japanese affair and it is almost impossible for a Korean to give up his name. He considers adoption in Korea to be possible only if the child is a nephew or cousin.[48]
Because of the reasons mentioned above, it used to happen that the moment the expectant parents found out that they were expecting a girl, they had an abortion. People felt that daughters who get married and go to the house of the husband’s parents are no longer part of the family they were born into. Moreover, the offspring of the daughters do not carry the name of their wife’s family, but the name of the husband’s family, and thus there is no one to continue the family line.
This has led to a change in the demographic curve. The government responded with slogans such as „one daughter equals ten boys“ and also by putting into effect a 1988 law where doctors were forbidden to tell the sex of the child to the expectant parents. The situation is turning for the better and, according to a 2006 survey by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), only 10% of women believed that it was necessary to give birth to a son, which can be considered a great success, since 15 years earlier in 1995, 40% of women did so.[49]
Conclusion
The aim of the thesis was to show how Korean education has changed, i.e. how Koreans have changed their attitude towards their children. What parents want to pass on to their offspring, what they motivate them to do, what rules they set in the home, how much they interfere in their children’s lives and how much they let them decide freely about their future.
Korean society is certainly based on Confucianism, but there have been significant changes since the last centuries. The most important pillars of Korean education are still the emphasis on education and respect for elders.
With the development of the feminist movement in Korea, as well as global influences and multiculturalism, women are gaining a better place in society. Another reason why Korean women now have a better social status than in the past is education, which is also now the responsibility of women. Mothers play a major role in choosing schools, but more importantly they play an important role in the education of children, which begins in pregnancy. Despite all this, it cannot be said that Korean men and women are equal. Women may still face discrimination in the workplace because of the possibility of going on maternity leave.
However, even within families, we can still encounter unequal treatment between men and women, and apart from the traditional role of the wife being subordinate to her husband, the most common form of existing inequality is access to daughters and sons. Daughters, unlike sons, tend to be more controlled by their parents, and it is not uncommon even in universities for girls to have parent-determined hours at which they must be home.
The factor that affects Korean families the most nowadays is the very low birth rate. Koreans talk about the low financial support for families and children from the state, the lack of work which reflects on social stratification when looking for a partner, or job discrimination against women when they go on maternity leave. Korean women even talk about sacrificing their femininity for family and children.
The government of the Republic of Korea itself had a major impact on low birth and fertility rates after the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, when the state promoted the idea of smaller families. The government wanted to get the population to become more work-oriented and came up with slogans such as „let’s only have two children“. This policy has been more than successful, and the fertility rate has fallen by around five children per woman in almost 70 years.
For Koreans, the current school system is a source of great stress. But unfortunately, the demanding nature of education is also contributing to the low birth rate, as most Korean students have to attend other educational institutions besides school and study there until late. These educational institutions are financially demanding and young Koreans are aware of this. When surveyed, many of them said that fear of their offspring’s lack of education discourages them from having more children.
[1] LEE, Yuna; LEE, Jiyoung; TULO, N. Korean Traditional Taegyo Prenatal Education based on Sajudang Lee’s ‘Taegyo singi’. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 2016, 31.2: 34–39.
[2] NEWMAN, Barbara M.; NEWMAN, Philip R. Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Cengage Learning, 2017.
[3] KIM, Young Hee. Factors associated with the practice of traditional prenatal education (Taegyo) among pregnant Korean women. Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing, 2011, 17.5: 491–498.
[4] SIMPSON, K. R.; CREEHAN, P. A. Perinatal nursing (3rd edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), 2008.
[5] SELINE, Helaine (ed.) STONE, Pamela Kendall (co-ed.). Childbirth across cultures: Ideas and practices of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum. New York: Springer, 2009.
[6] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. Made in Korea. Praha: Nová vlna, 2019. ISBN 978-80-85845-85-3.
[7] SIMPSON, K. R.; CREEHAN, P. A. Perinatal nursing (3rd edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), 2008.
[8] SELINE, Helaine (ed.) STONE, Pamela Kendall (co-ed.). c. d.
[9] SIMPSON, K. R.; CREEHAN, P. A. c. d.
[10] Samsin halmoni (삼신 할모니) consists of three words: sam – three, sin – deity and halmoni – Grandma. It is said that Samsin was a young girl who was seduced by a monk, the girl became pregnant and her brothers imprisoned her as punishment. But fortunately her mother freed her and the girl gave birth to triplets – three sons. Because of this, she became the protector of pregnant women and newborns. (Selin, 2009)
[11] SELINE, Helaine (ed.) STONE, Pamela Kendall (co-ed.). c. d.
[12] Birthday Celebrations. [online] ASIANINFO: Your complete Resource on Asia, 2000 [cit. 10. 3. 2020] Available from: http://www.asianinfo.org/…celebrations.htm
[13] Sansin (산신) is the god of the mountains (san means mountain), is often depicted as an old man with a tiger at his side. (Löwensteinová & Winkelhöferová, Encyklopedie mytologie Japonska a Koreje, 2006)
[14] Child’s First Birthday (Tol). [online] Life in Korea, 2001. [cit. 10. 3. 2020] Available from: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm
[15] Child’s First Birthday (Tol). c. d.
[16] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. Made in Korea. Praha: Nová vlna, 2019. ISBN 978-80-85845-85-3.
[17] Child’s First Birthday (Tol). [online] Life in Korea, 2001. [cit. 10. 3. 2020] Available from: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm
[18] Child’s First Birthday (Tol). c. d.
[19] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam. V Koreji se Korejcům nevyhneme. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2010. ISBN 978-80-7422-010-4.
[20] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam. V Koreji se Korejcům nevyhneme. c. d.
[21] JANOŠ, Jiří. Japonsko a Korea: dramatické sousedství. Academia, 2007.
[22] JANOŠ, Jiří. c. d.
[23] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. Made in Korea. Praha: Nová vlna, 2019. ISBN 978-80-85845-85-3.
[24] ROWDEN, D. A magazine helping to change the role of fathers in South Korea. [online] Coverage, 2018 [cit. 12. 3. 2020] Available from: https://subsail.com/blog/a-…korea/
[25] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. c. d.
[26] RIPLEY, Amanda. The smartest kids in the world: And how they got that way. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013.
[27] The abbreviation SKY is used for these universities.
[28] It is an industrial conglomerate run by a particular family.
[29] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam. V Koreji se Korejcům nevyhneme. c. d.
[30] LADNER, M. 10 Superstitions that Koreans Still Believe Today. [online] Culture Trip, 2018 [cit. 12. 3. 2020] Available from: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea…/
[31] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. c. d.
[32] It is a space with several rooms with a television, a huge binder of songs on offer, several microphones and most often a tambourine to add variety to the show. They come in two forms, a traditional one with a reception desk where a group of singers agree on a price with a staff member and then pay, and an automated one where a person has to throw a given amount of money into a machine to enter the room. Norebang is one form of simpler entertainment where Koreans can let out their stress (Löwensteinová et al., 2019).
[33] The word adžuma is a widely used word in Korea referring to a married woman or a woman of the age when we assume a woman is married. Generally, it is therefore used to refer to older ladies. The word is often translated as aunt, but in this case it is not a kinship word.
[34] Kimči / kimchi is probably the most typical Korean dish. It is a spicy fermented cabbage and Koreans serve it with almost every meal, including breakfast.
[35] LÖWENSTEINOVÁ, Miriam; POPA, Markéta. c. d.
[36] JANOŠ, Jiří. Japonsko a Korea: dramatické sousedství. Academia, 2007.
[37] JANG, S. Korean Couple Culture: How Korean couples date. [online] Hanyang University, 2017 [cit. 12. 3. 2020] Available from: http://www.hanyang.ac.kr/surl/B6hJ
[38] JANG, S. c. d.
[39] LEE, J. Pepero Day: Eight things you should know: 빼빼로 데이 ‚짚고 넘어갈만한 8가지 팩트‘. [online] The Korea Times, 11. 11. 2014 [cit. 12. 3. 2020] Available from: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/…3.html
[40] JANOŠ, Jiří. Japonsko a Korea: dramatické sousedství. Academia, 2007.
[41] SORENSON, Clark W. The value and meaning of the Korean family. Asia Society, 1986.
[42] Fertility rate, total (births per woman). [online] World Bank, 2020. [cit. 12. 3. 2020]. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/…IN
[43] HAUB, Carl. Did South Korea’s population policy work too well? [online] Population Reference Bureau, 2010. [cit. 12. 3. 2020, Dostupné z: https://www.prb.org/koreafertility/
[44] HAUB, Carl. Did South Korea’s population policy work too well? [online] Population Reference Bureau, 2010. [cit. 12. 3. 2020, Dostupné z: https://www.prb.org/koreafertility/
[45] BRODIE-HALL, Greer. The Sampo Generation: Why We Are Seeing the Lowest Fertility Rate of All Time? [online] The Observer, 23 August, 2018 [cit. 12. 3. 2020], Available from: https://www.theobserver-qiaa.org/the-sampo-generation-why-we-are-seeing-the-lowest-fertility-rate-of-all-time/
[46] ‚No place for a mother‘: South Korea battles to raise birth rate. [online] The Strait Times, 2018. [cit. 12. 3. 2020] Available from: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/no-place-for-a-mother-south-korea-battles-to-raise-birth-rate
[47] RENSHAW, Jean R. Korean women managers and corporate culture: Challenging tradition, choosing empowerment, creating change. New York: Routledge, 2012.
[48] JANOŠ, Jiří. Japonsko a Korea: dramatické sousedství. Academia, 2007.
[49] RENSHAW, Jean R. Korean women managers and corporate culture: Challenging tradition, choosing empowerment, creating change. New York: Routledge, 2012.
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