[KS] Korean Culture for eldest son to care for parents
Sunjoo Kim
sunjookim1 at hotmail.com
Mon Jun 16 11:00:35 EDT 2008
Dear members,
Following website (YOsOng kaebalwOn / Korean women's development institute -
KWDI) provides many interesting and up-to-date statistics on various topics
ranging from population, family, education, welfare, etc.
Its home page:
http://www.kwdi.re.kr/index.jsp
Gender statistics information system (GSIS) here:
http://gsis.kwdi.re.kr/
Its English page does not seem to work.
One example link belows shows "³ëºÎ¸ð ºÎ¾ç¿¡ ´ëÇÑ
°ßÇØ(¼º/¿¬·É¡¤±³À°Á¤µµ¡¤È¥Àλóź°)" 1998-2006 and many other related
statistics.
http://gsis.kwdi.re.kr:8080/cgi-bin/sws_999.cgi
Sun Joo Kim
----Original Message Follows----
From: michael ralston <mkr_lists at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mkr_lists at yahoo.com,Korean Studies Discussion List
<koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
To: Korean Studies Discussion List <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
Subject: Re: [KS] Korean Culture for eldest son to care for parents
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:11:27 -0700 (PDT)
Hello everyone,
David Prendergast?™s book, ?œFrom Elder to Ancestor: Old Age, Death, and
Inheritance in Modern Korea,??may be helpful. (Global Oriental, 2005) I
haven?™t read the entire book yet, but he addresses different aspects of the
issue.
Kyu-taik Sung?™s address at the 1997 World Congress of Gerontology (?œFilial
Piety in Modern Times: Timely Adaptation and Practice Patterns??
http://www.cas.flinders.edu.au/iag/proceedings/proc0030.htm) is also worth
looking at.
Polling in 2002 showed 25.9% of respondents (20 years and over) thought
they were performing their filial obligations well; 32.4% thought they were
not performing their filial obligations well, and the remaining 41.7%
thought they were average.
One anecdotal note about the increasing value of women??a friend of
mine mentioned that when marrying the groom?™s family is still responsible
for providing housing while the bride?™s family is responsible for the
furnishings therein. With the steep growth in housing prices and the more
modest increases in the cost of furnishing a house, a male?™s household
faces a very large financial burden.
Regards, mike
--- On Thu, 6/12/08, Stephen Epstein <Stephen.Epstein at vuw.ac.nz> wrote:
> From: Stephen Epstein <Stephen.Epstein at vuw.ac.nz>
> Subject: Re: [KS] Korean Culture for eldest son to care for parents
> To: "Korean Studies Discussion List" <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008, 8:09 AM
> Dear all,
>
> As an additional observation on this thread, it's worth
> noting the remarkable shift that's occurring away from
> preference for sons to preference for daughters. I include
> below a piece from Choe Sang Hun, who's been doing
> excellent work for the NY Times. The article appeared in
> December of 2007. If anybody can point me to recent surveys
> that specifically track S. Korean preferences on this issue,
> I'd be grateful. Choe's piece cites the ratio of
> male to female babies born, which would seem a reliable
> statistic, but I suspect there is more to the story, and
> that the change in birth ratio may be lagging behind the
> attitude change. Although there may be some pressure from
> older generations to have one son, anecdotally (at least in
> and around Seoul, among middle class/professional circles)
> the shift to daughter preference has been almost seismic in
> just the last few years, as far as I can tell. One reason
> I've heard given several times, related to what Gene
> notes, is that in conjunction with other changes in family
> structure, daughters are now felt to be more reliable
> caregivers for elderly parents than daughters-in-law.
>
> Cheers, Stephen
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: koreanstudies-bounces at koreaweb.ws on behalf of Eugene
> Y. Park
> Sent: Thu 2008-06-12 3:35 PM
> To: Korean Studies Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [KS] Korean Culture for eldest son to care for
> parents
>
> Dear all,
>
> I fully agree with Clark's observations. I'd even
> go as far as suggesting
> that for quite some time, whether to live with the
> man's parents (or even
> near by them) has been a contentious issue for marriage
> couples. Of course
> the Koreans are aware of the tradition of parents-eldest
> son cohabitation,
> but now a days one would be hard pressed to find a woman
> duly accepting
> and abiding by the notion. She may as well--and rightfully
> so--ask: Why
> should it be my husband's parents who should be taken
> care of while my own
> parents too need help?
>
> On the last chuseok in Korea when I was trying to avoid the
> worst day of
> expressway traffic, a cousin of mine cynically noted: These
> days, it's all
> spread out; people make one-day trips, since the daughters
> in-law don't
> like to stay long at the parents-in-laws'.
>
> Best,
> Gene
>
>
> On Thu, 6 12, 2008 06:23, Clark W Sorensen wrote:
> > Dear Lawrence,
> >
> > I didn't mean to imply that Korean culture has
> changed as fast as Korean
> > law, but still there have been fairly drastic changes.
> With the
> > equalization of inheritance between sons and between
> sons and daughters,
> > however, the emphasis on the eldest son is much less
> than it used to be.
> > Coresidence of parents with married children is the
> exception rather than
> > the rule in urban areas, and when such coresidence
> takes place, although
> > it is most often with the eldest son, it is sometimes
> with more affluent
> > younger sons, or even daughters. At contemporary
> ancestor worship rituals,
> > while the eldest son may give the first offering of
> liquor, the subsequent
> > offerings are often not now limited to two, but
> extended to as many
> > descendents as wish to make offerings including
> daughters in some
> > families. Roger Janelli and I have both contributed
> articles to Charlotte
> > Ikels edited volume "Filial Piety: Practice
> > and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia"
> (Stanford Press) that discuss
> > both change and continuity in this value in
> present-day Korea. Just
> > because people still read the same old texts
> doesn't mean they understand
> > the significance of these text in the same way their
> parents and
> > grandparents did.
> >
> > Clark
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 10 Jun 2008, lawrence driscoll wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Dear List:
> >>
> >> Although Clark Sorenson's reply to InJung
> Cho's query sounded very
> >> adept, and may be all that the lawyer needed, I
> must say that I am
> >> surprised that the subject did not generate more
> discussion.
> >> In my own mind the intricate father-son
> relationship had always been
> >> fundamental to the Korean family structure, and to
> Korean culture in
> >> general.
> >>
> >> I must admit that my first reaction to such a
> query, made by a person
> >> with a name that is clearly Korean, was amazement.
> But then I realized
> >> that if I were to be approached to answer a
> question about my own Irish
> >> heritage, I too would be at a loss. Our family
> roots are now some 5
> >> generations removed from Ireland. And I am
> guessing that Dr. Cho's may
> >> be similarly distant from Korea.
> >>
> >> But regardless of Clark's citing of 1988 as
> the official end to such
> >> filial obligations, I can't but help believe
> that for many, these duties
> >> of the eldest son continue to be deeply ingrained
> in the national
> >> psyche. Granted that while the three year mourning
> period at the
> >> gravesite of one's father, has long been
> relegated to antiquity, other
> >> manifestations of the Master's (Confucius)
> teachings are no doubt still
> >> in tact. Please correct me if I am wrong, and if
> the demise of this
> >> tradition has indeed been happening at a far
> faster pace.
> >>
> >> Thank you.
> >>
> >> Lawrence Driscoll N.J., U.S.A.
> >>
> >> > Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 13:23:55 -0700>
> From: sangok at u.washington.edu>
> >> To: koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws> Subject: Re:
> [KS] Korean Culture for
> >> eldest son to care for parents> > Dear Dr.
> Cho,> > It was indeed true
> >> until 1988 that eldest sons in South Korea
> succeeded to the house
> >> headship, received extra property in inheritance,
> and were expected to
> >> take care of their parents in old age. Korea
> family law has been
> >> revised several times since then, however, and the
> Constitutional
> >> Court has made a number of critical decisions, so
> the issue is no
> >> longer cut and dried. Eldest sons can now
> partition from their birth
> >> house if they wish. Other children have a residual
> obligation to their
> >> parents as well, so the legal status of the eldest
> son at the time of
> >> his death would depend upon whether he was still
> registered on his
> >> parents family register, whether he had children
> of his own, and
> >> whether he had any siblings. Because of the
> complicated nature of all
> >> of these considerations I would think hiring a
> Korean lawyer would be
> >> well worth the cost.> > Clark W.
> Sorensen> University of Washington> >
> >> > On Fri, 6 Jun 2008, Injung Cho wrote:>
> > > Dear all,> >> > I was
> >> contacted by a lawyer about the Korean customs of
> looking after> >
> >> their old parents. I am afraid that I don't
> know much about this
> >> issue.> > So I am turning to this discussion
> forum for help. Any help
> >> will be> > greatly appreciated. I've
> attached her email below.> >> >
> >> Regards,> > InJung Cho> >> >
> =========================> >> > Further
> >> to our telephone conversation just now, I confirm
> that I act for> > a
> >> Korean family ??husband and wife who are farmers;
> their younger son>
> >> > (completing military service) and
> daughter.> >> > Last year their
> >> eldest son who had graduated with a degree in>
> > Hospitality
> >> Management was killed in the Kerang Rail
> accident.> >> > The family
> >> were flown over for the Memorial Service held last
> year.> > The eldest
> >> son was in Australia doing work experience in
> hotels with the> > hope
> >> of obtaining a better position in Korea with his
> international work> >
> >> experience. The family were assisting him
> financially during his> >
> >> studies and whilst he was here.> >> >
> They have advised that as is
> >> traditional in Korean society the eldest> >
> son would care for them in
> >> their retirement.> >> > This matter
> needs to be supported by
> >> independent proof of this cultural> > norm
> and I am hoping that there
> >> are some studies or statistics or other> >
> information which can be
> >> put before the court to establish the great>
> > financial loss to the
> >> parents.> >> > Any assistance will be
> greatly appreciated.> >> > Thank
> >> you> > Lesley Simons> >> >
> Lesley Simons & Associates> > Barristers &
> >> Solicitors & Migration Agents> > MARN:
> 0210699> > Tel: (613) 9509
> >> 2572> > lesleysimons at bigpond.com> >
> Fax: (613) 9509 2142> >> >> >>
> >>
> >> > >
> >>
> _________________________________________________________________
> >> Search that pays you back! Introducing Live Search
> cashback.
> >>
>
http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=srchpaysyouback
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> Eugene Y. Park
> Associate Professor
> Department of History
> Krieger Hall 200
> University of California, Irvine
> Irvine, CA 92697
> Tel. (949) 824-5275
> Fax. (949) 824-2865
> http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=4926
More information about the Koreanstudies
mailing list