Changes in Korean Family Structure and the Conflicts of Ideology

and Practice in Early Socialization

Chung Byung-H o



Introduction

With rapid industrialization and urbanization, the Korean family has undergone
tremendous change in both structure and function. Family size is continuously
decreasing, and the number of extended families is decreasing, too. ne-generation and
t!o-generation families ha"e increased, and the increase in one-person households is
remar#able. $i"orce has increased explosi"ely, and more than half of married !omen
%oin the labor force.
Family "alues and ideologies ha"e not changed enough to meet !ith the changes in
family structure. &odern "alues of an industrial society such as independence, freedom,
and achie"ement ha"e been gaining more and more importance in people's li"es,
especially in the formal sectors such as schools, the !or#place, and other formal
organizations. Where the family is concerned, ho!e"er, traditional "alues such as
parental authority, children's filial piety, and gender-role differentiation are still !idely
emphasized, and the "irtues of the traditional family are highly praised.
$ominant "alues in today's Korea still fa"or family care of infants and young children.
Ho!e"er, during the last decade, Korea built an extensi"e day-care system in order to
allo! mothers to ta#e employment outside the home. (nder the surface of the monolithic
image of Korean child rearing, !hich assumes the presence of a family and a
)professional house!ife,) in reality, there is a significant clea"age in the en"ironments of
early socialization bet!een children reared at home and those in full-day child-care
centers. *ince the dominant discourses still emphasize the )modal) practice of child
rearing and the role of the )proper) mother, the children in the centers and their !or#ing
mothers are often considered either to be exceptions or an insignificant fe! !ho form a
sort of cultural minority.
Clea"ages in the paths of early socialization often o"erlap !ith the di"isions among
social classes and differences in the conceptions of )proper) gender roles. Full-day child-
care centers supposedly are for the children of !or#ing mothers !ho are either forced or
!illing to ta#e outside occupations despite the dominant social norms. +n this regard, the
rapid expansion of the day-care system is not only a reflection of large scale economic
changes but also a potential challenge to the official model for ho! Koreans are supposed
to li"e.


Traditional Ideologies and Current Problems

Changes in Family Structure

"er the last fe! centuries industrialization and urbanization ha"e brought about changes
in family structure all o"er the !orld. ,ll these changes ha"e occurred in modern Korea
"ery drastically !ithin the range of %ust a fe! decades. -able . sho!s these changes in
some basic social indicators.



-he changes in family structure ha"e occurred in accordance !ith the socioeconomic
conditions. -able / presents the changes in household types.


,s sho!n in -able /, !ithin a period of 01 years, extended families of three or more
generations ha"e decreased to less than one third, and one-generation families ha"e
almost tripled. -he increase in one-person households is e"en more remar#able. ,s the
di"orce rate has gone up from /.23 in .451 to /23 in /111, single-parent families ha"e
also increased sharply.
-hese statistics sho! the drastic changes in the Korean family structure o"er the last 01
years, and the trend !ill continue in the future for some time !ith the ongoing changes in
the Korean society to!ard higher economic de"elopment, democratization,
indi"idualism, and longer life expectancy.

Ideological Conflicts: "Normal" and "Abnormal" Family

-here is a cultural lag bet!een practice and ideology. -his situation produces
psychological dissonance and creates ad%ustment problems of "arious #inds. -he
dissonance bet!een the dominant traditional family "alues and !idespread family
practices can ma#e people thin# that they are )abnormal) or e"en )immoral.) +ronically,
the ma%ority of family practices can be categorized as )abnormal) 6Chung Byung-Ho
.4427.
-he dissonance bet!een the older and younger generations !ithin a family is "ery
serious, too. -hey ha"e different ideas about !hom to li"e !ith, !hat role to play, and
ho! to interact and communicate. +t is a source of hea"y stress for both parties. -he
dissonance also exists !ithin a single indi"idual. &any people experience the conflict
bet!een their psychological need for freedom, independence, and e8uality, and the
internalized cultural norms !ithin oneself. -his dissonance or inconsistency can lead to
mental health problems, interpersonal conflict, and moral dilemmas 6Chung 9ean-Kyung
.4457.
-hese problems occur in any society to some extent, but they are more acute in Korea
because of the rapidity of its industrialization. Korea's tremendous economic
de"elopment o"er the last three decades has attracted a lot of attention from all o"er the
!orld. But economic blessings are not !ithout a price. -he changes in family structure
occurred drastically !ithout allo!ing enough time for adaptation or ad%ustment.

Current Problems

-raditional Korean family "alues are undergoing a change, but not fast enough to meet
the changing family structure. +n &ay of e"ery year, !hich is designated the )family
month,) the mass media laments the deterioration of the traditional family "alues, gi"es
out prizes to those !ho #ept the good tradition of filial piety 6hyo7, and prompts people to
re"i"e the good "irtues. Clearly, one of the reasons for the gap bet!een family ideology
and practice is that the high speed of changes in family structure did not allo! people the
time they needed to ad%ust their thin#ing. -here are other reasons, ho!-e"er, that are
more specific to Korean culture itself.
Korea has been described as one of the most collecti"ist cultures 6Bond .4::; Han and
,hn .440; Hofstede .4:17. <eople in collecti"ist cultures li"e in strong and cohesi"e in-
groups and "alue in-group solidarity, harmony, and duty. +n-group norms are strictly
follo!ed, a practice !hich ma#es the members reluctant to stand out. -herefore, e"en
!hen the pattern of family life has changed for many, they do not !ant to spea# out for
the ne! "alues in the face of the dominant ma%ority. +n a !ay, it is analogous to the
concept of pluralistic ignorance, in that e"en though the ne! "alues are held pri"ately by
a lot of people, they tend not to surface and ma#e changes in the cultural discourse unless
the people realize that there are many others !ho feel li#e themsel"es.
,nother reason for the persistence of traditional family "alues can be found in Korea's
modern history. *ince the nineteenth century, Korean society has experienced a
dissol"ing of the traditional social stratification system, peasant uprisings, and a number
of !ars. With the 9apanese occupation, many !ere depri"ed of their land, forced to lea"e
the community, or drafted to the army and forced labor. $uring this period of turmoil, the
people had to sur"i"e social insecurity, economic po"erty, and cultural confusion, and the
family !as often the only resource and protection they had.
=osing the protection of the go"ernment altogether, )family-centered sur"i"al) 69o Hye-
%eong .4::7 became the life goal of most people. -he external threats to the family
elicited a strong reacti"e response. +t enhanced the cohesi"eness of the family as a unit,
strengthened its ability to sur"i"e in the face of hardship, and conse8uently reinforced the
sentiment of )familism) !ith all the traditional family "alues that go !ith it.

.7 bsessions of )Blood) and >xtreme +nfant *ex-ratio
-he most stri#ing example is the phenomenon called )boy preference.) -he sex-ratio of
boys to girls at birth !as ..2./?.11 in Korea in .440, the highest in the !orld
6Newsweek .4427. -he traditional "alue of continuing the patrilinear descendence !ith at
least one son and the contemporary practice of ha"ing a small number of children found a
solution in selecti"e abortion, using the modern medical technology such as ultra-
sonograms. -he la! prohibits selecti"e abortion 6in .444, the sex-ratio lo!ered to
.14.5?.117, but the ratio tells ho! !idely it has been practiced. For the fourth child, the
ratio of girls to boys is less than 21 percent.
, married !oman is li#ely to be under some pressure from her husband and in-la!s,
either openly or co"ertly, to gi"e birth to a son. -he pressure from the husband's family,
ho!e"er, is not the only factor. ften, it is the !ish of the !oman herself. -his is !here
the problem gets more complicated. Women these days cannot and do not expect their
sons to beha"e li#e the sons in the traditional family, obeying parents, li"ing !ith them,
and supporting them in their old age. -hey ha"e obser"ed that the number of elderly !ho
li"e !ith and are supported by the oldest son, or any son, has decreased. Boy or girl,
children these days ha"e become an economic burden on the family rather than an
economic asset or an insurance against old age. Furthermore, in modern nuclear families,
the lo"e and intimacy bet!een husband and !ife is not structurally interfered !ith.
+n this respect, the boy preference in contemporary Korea does not ha"e the instrumental
or sentimental basis it had in the past. -he only meaningful aspect of the boy preference
that is still effecti"e is the symbolic po!er and status that bearing a son gi"es a !oman in
the husband's family. -he factors that comprise boy preference and influence a !oman's
decision to ha"e a selecti"e abortion need further in"estigation.
-he immorality of the selecti"e abortion is mitigated and rationalized !ith the excuse that
it is done )for the family,) gi"ing a good example of ho! the )familism) sometimes
comes before morality. But, for many !omen !ho go through selecti"e abortions, the
psychological hurt remains. >"en !hen it is their o!n decision, the guilt and pain from
)#illing a baby girl, a daughter that might ha"e been,) troubles them for a long time. +t
goes against their basic moral "alues, and creates a dissonance that does not go a!ay
easily 6Chung 9ean-Kyung .4457.

/7 <ri"ate Competition and >rosion of >arly Childhood

(nder circumstances in !hich the family unit becomes smaller and the "alue of domestic
labor drops, the social realization of self for the married !omen becomes e"en more
imperati"e, not only as a personal goal but also as a social necessity. Ho!e"er,
patriarchical family ideology bloc#s any paths open to married !omen for self-realization
in the social or official spheres.@.A Frustrated married !omen are often susceptible to
many pathological problems, and they, as an oppressed cultural minority, may cause
numerous social problems, especially in relation to education and childcare.
Children's education becomes one important arena !here !omen compete !ith a
concentration of their personal ability and social resources. Being restricted from many
socially meaningful acti"ities, mothers seldom find !ays to fulfill their social self other
than realizing it indirectly through their children. n the other hand, it is considered to be
one of the most acceptable and surest in"estments, one that is closely related to
traditional strategies for establishing one's place !ithin the existing social stratification.
,s such, it is a serious social po!er game, !ith the future at sta#e, in !hich mothers
become ma%or players.@/A
+n "ie! of a familism based exclusi"ely on blood ties, children cannot be separated from
the family, and thus, they are expected to function as a means of reproduction of family,
status, and property. ,s the number of children in the nuclear family decreases, the
traditional expectation becomes an intolerable pressure on the children. +t often leads to
collecti"e child abuse, as a #ind of ne! cultural practice, to !hich the contemporary
Korean society at large has yet to be sensitized.
Compared to the past, today's younger children in Korea are blessed !ith material
abundance. Ho!e"er, they are depri"ed of spontaneous social relationships and cultural
experiences. -hey are typically confined to the apartment of the nuclear family,
especially !ith their mothers !ho are usually isolated from relati"es, neighbors, and
larger communities in their daily interactions. =imited spaces in institutional group
settings for education and care do pro"ide experiences to interact !ith others. Ho!e"er,
these in"aluable opportunities are often eroded by collecti"e class-room acti"ities !hich
promote competiti"e early learning and talent training.
$ue to their parents' ambition and strong desire to see their children achie"e much at an
early age, many young children find themsel"es spending long, passi"e hours e"ery day
in talent-training classes. Field 6.44/7 describes a similar phenomenon caused by parental
obsession in 9apan, and argues that it is an example of forced )labor) upon children. For
the children, it results in the )erosion of childhood) 6*urans#y .4:/7, ta#ing a!ay the
experiences and happiness they deser"e during their childhood.

B7 Wor#ing &others and the Ceed for *ocialized Childcare

(nli#e our image of Korean mothers as )professional house!i"es) !ho rear their
children and stay at home, a significant number of mothers are fully incorporated into
paid !or# outside the home, and a large percentage of children are reared in institutional
settings. +n the year /111, DD.43 of married !omen !or#ed, !hile /D.B3 of mothers
!ith 1-2 year-old children 6BB.43 !ith B-2 year-olds; /1.23 !ith 1-/ year-olds7 had
%obs, numbers that run counter to the dominant "alues !hich still insist that the mother
should care for infants and younger children in the home. Further, three out of four full-
time house!i"es, ages bet!een /2-/4 years old, !ant to ha"e %obs outside the home, if
they can find a proper arrangement for the care of their children 6Hankyoreh /. /11.7. +n
other !ords, today's Korean mothers fa"or more socialized childcare than family care.
-he problem is that the society is not able to recognize nor to respond to their demands
properly yet.
Figure . sho!s the dynamic changes of the !omen's participation in the labor force
during the years from .451 to .442. -he participation rate has more than doubled since
the .451s. -he rapid expansion of the Korean economy and the e"er increasing demands
for labor ha"e been considered as the main causes of this radical change. But, it also
needs to be examined from the supply side, from the changes in !omen's li"es. &arital
status, child birth, and education are the ma%or factors that affect the !omen's
participation to the labor mar#et. ,ll of these areas ha"e changed drastically.
First of all, the total birth rate dropped from 0.: children in .452 to ..D in .4:2, and it has
remained at this le"el to the present 6KW$+ .44D7. +t means that !omen ha"e been
some!hat freed from the demands of repeated pregnancy and child birth during their
marriages. +t also affects families' in"estment into girls' education.
*econd, the a"erage number of years of formal education for !omen increased from B
years in .451 to 4.B years in .442. -he increase in the education of younger !omen had
been so rapid that, by .442, there !as no difference in a"erage length of education
bet!een men and !omen under B1 years old 69ang .44:7. $uring the initial period of
industrialization, in the .451s and .4D1s, undereducated young girls as uns#illed cheap
laborers in the factory had been the symbol of !omen in the labor force. Co!, more and
more !omen !ith higher education !ant to find %obs !ith the potential for a life-time
career.
-hird, the a"erage age for a !oman's initial marriage gradually increased from /..2 years
old in .451 to /5 in .442 6ibid., .44:7. <rolonged education must ha"e affected the delay
of initial marriage. ,t the same time, many young !omen see marriage as a less
appealing option that !ould disrupt their indi"idual social li"es, and !ould rather extend
unmarried life !ith a career as long as possible. >"en after marriage, they tend to delay
childbirth.
-he sharp "alley in the &-cur"e of the !omen's age-cohort labor pattern 6Figure .7
re"eals the reality of the labor mar#et. +t represents both ho! the labor mar#et pushes
!omen out at the time of marriage, childbirth, and child rearing, and ho! the society is
not supporti"e of them. $ominant ideologies concerning the family and the role of the
mother lay the cultural foundations for these discriminatory social practices against
!omen. -he establishment of the socialized child-care system !ill be an effecti"e tool for
further social change.


Dual Responses !Education! and !Care!

Families, homes, and mothers are still considered to be ma%or agents for the early
socialization of children in Korea. Ho!e"er, rapid industrialization and urbanization ha"e
created emergent ne! needs for early socialization outside the home. -he speed of
change has been so fast that the society has failed to respond to them in time. -he
traditional "ie! of education as a means of social competition has eroded the childhood
experience by being extended to younger children. -he lac# of understanding of the need
for social childcare has made the children of some !or#ing mothers the "ictims of fire
!hen they !ere loc#ed in tiny one-room apartments.
*till, Korean society has difficulty in ac#no!ledging the contemporary problems of
childcare and education as social responsibilities. Children under the ages for compulsory
education are belie"ed to be in the hands of mothers, and thus, the expenses of their
education and care are considered to be solely family matters. >"en the ad"ocates and
policyma#ers, !ho argue for the go"ernmental support for early socialization, find their
rationale in the traditional perspecti"es on competiti"e schooling and the !elfare of the
poor.

arly ducation: !omestic and International Com"etition

Kindergarten education in Korea started out as an exotic form of early socialization for
the children of elite families. ,s an import for the pri"ileged, it displayed many
distincti"ely foreign cultural forms that became the dominant mode of early education.
Cot only the material settings such as buildings, classes, and educational materials, but
also the songs, dances, and !ays of speech and interaction patterns !ere modeled after
the dominant foreign practices.
$uring the colonial period, the pre!ar 9apanese #indergarten practices laid the
foundations of the #indergarten culture in Korea. (niforms, collecti"e acti"ities, and
ritualized interactions bet!een teachers and children are still "isible in many
#indergartens as a legacy of the past. ,fter the liberation and the Korean !ar, ,merican
culture added a ne! layer to the #indergarten life. *ome #indergartens, usually affiliated
to uni"ersities, started to emphasize more liberal approaches for indi"idual freedom and
de"elopment. Ho!e"er, their influence has been limited to a fe! experimental
institutions because of the societal obsession for the competiti"e education. *till, popular
perception of early education as fundamentally foreign and ad"anced has been confirmed
and !idespread. >"en today, many early educational institutions display the names of
foreign scholars, theories, and practices as their models.
(ntil .4D2, #indergarten enrollment of the 2 year-old children had remained under /.:3.
+t rose to 023 in .44D.@BA -his mar#s a significant shift from the education of the fe! to
that of the masses. Ho!e"er, the modes of education ha"e not changed much.
Kindergartens in contemporary Korea are mainly for the children of non!or#ing mothers.
With only morning-hour programs 6four hours a day as a standard, usually !ith a 4?11
,.&. to .?11 <.&. daily schedule7 and !ith long "acations, #indergartens assume the
existence of full-time house!ife mothers. , "ery limited number of #indergartens in
urban areas ha"e started to pro"ide after-hour ser"ices for the children of !or#ing
mothers, but fe! of them are !illing to extend their programs into the long "acations. +n
short, they are schools and they ha"e all the characteristic rhythms of formal educational
institutions.
-here has been an e"en more explosi"e expansion in the field of early education parallel
to the #indergarten. -his has been the expansion of the pri"ate institutions for early talent
training. +t is sometimes called the )early education industry,) since most of these
institutions clearly sho! a profit-moti"ation by running institutions !ith business-li#e
management s#ills. +n these institutions, children from "ery early ages are supposed to
learn any specific sub%ects such as reading and !riting, math, foreign languages, dra!ing,
dance, s!imming, and taegwondo. >"ery possible sub%ect in education is for sale. +n this
field, discourses on the success and the failure in education are consumed extensi"ely
among educators and both !or#ing and non!or#ing mothers.
Competition is the #ey factor that ma#es mothers most deeply afraid. >arlier learning is
!idely belie"ed to be the only effecti"e tool for success in the realms of domestic and
international competition. +t is no !onder that many ad"ocates and policyma#ers
emphasize international competition as a reason for further go"ernmental in"estment in
early education.

Child#care Priority: Class or $ender

-he go"ernment's delayed response to childcare !as not simply due to inefficient
bureaucratic arrangements, but !as mainly due to dissonance in the cultural concepts 6or
political ideologies7, especially among the policyma#ers, concerning the roles of the
go"ernment and the family. +n .4:., the First =ady of the <resident !ho had come to the
po!er through the military coup launched an ambitious campaign, called the )Ce!
Eillage Kindergarten) 6saemaeul yuawon7, for early childhood education. *he
transformed all of the full-day child-care institutions 6hundreds of children's homes
or eorini %i"7 into half-day #indergartens for the early education for the poor. -his pro%ect
systematically up-rooted the child-care system !hile Korean society !as !ell into its
rapid industrialization. -he ideas behind full-day childcare !ere often thought to be
)communistic.) ,t the same time, the practice of institutional childcare !as legally
bloc#ed until the democratization of .4:D. Ho!e"er, e"en today, this period is highly
praised in the history of education as one of drastic de"elopment from the )simple care)
to the )ad"anced early education.)
,ny systematic response to the child-care needs had been delayed in Korea until there
occurred a series of accidents in !hich infants and toddlers !ho had been loc#ed inside
the house !ere #illed in fires !hile their parents !ere out !or#ing. *uch accidents
occurred repeatedly in the years bet!een .4:4 and .44. and !ere considered to be clear
e"idence of policy failures in !hich the necessity of state-supported childcare had been
consistently ignored. +t !as at that time that the general public finally realized that
society and the go"ernment should assume responsibility of childcare since many
indi"idual nuclear families !ere no longer able to pro"ide the necessary care themsel"es.
Finally, the +nfant and Childcare =a! !as passed in .44.. +mmediately, the child-care
system rapidly expanded to such an extent that in .44D the total number of institutions
became .2,BD2 6public, .,.2:; pri"ate, :,.D/; !or#place, .2:; family, 2,:DD7, enough to
care for 2/1,:24 children 6&inistry of Health and Welfare .44:7. -hese !ere neither the
natural fruits of economic de"elopment nor the mechanical outcomes of policyma#ing by
state bureaucracies. Child-care ad"ocates and some progressi"e !omen's organizations
had to struggle for the establishment of today's day-care system. Earious forms of
struggle such as rallies, sit-ins, fund raisers, signature collections, la! petitions, and
political campaigns had to be carried out to ma#e e"en a minimal child-care system
a"ailable.
,t the same time, the labor mar#et demands on !or#ing mothers also pressed
conser"ati"es to ma#e a bargain !ith progressi"es o"er the expansion of day care.
*uffering from an extreme labor shortage beginning in the late .4:1s, the Korean
economy began to rely on imported foreign labor. ,s a means of exploiting a"ailable
domestic labor, the day-care system !as implemented for the integration of young
mothers into the labor force.@0A -his !as !hen the &inistry of =abor decided to step into
the day-care business. Ho!e"er, there !ere limits to ho! far the system could expand
and in !hat directions. -he system itself ran counter to the dominant family "alues.
-he notion that financial support for childcare is only for the underpri"ileged class 6or
)bro#en) families7 !as firmly set in policy from the beginning. -he go"ernment and
conser"ati"es held the "ie! that most )ordinary) 6or middle-class7 families should carry
the financial burden since the primary role of day care is child rearing. +t is fundamentally
a !elfare program for the poor families in !hich mothers are forced to !or# outside
home. -he go"ernment only supports the public centers, !hich are supposedly located in
underpri"ileged communities, and it pro"ides subsidies for the children of families !ho
recei"e social !elfare.
,ll pri"ate and family care centers operate only on the tuition.@2A ,s pri"ate businesses, it
is natural that most of these centers see# profit. Ho!e"er, childcare is fundamentally less
profitable than education because of regulations prescribing )proper) teacher-children
ratios for the care of younger children for the full day. -he contradictions bet!een policy
and practice are the source of current problems !hich result in a lac# of infant and
toddler care in most centers. &any centers e"en demand the softening of regulations in
order to ha"e the #indergarten-li#e large classes but !ith fe!er teachers.
(nli#e the stereotypical images of childcare as a form of social !elfare for the poor, the
actual need of childcare has been emerging across classes and regions. ,fter such rapid
social change, it is no! almost e"enly distributed among the entire population, as a
significant proportion of !omen of all ages and classes participate in 6or, at least, !ant to
participate in7 !or# outside the home. -he only difference is !hether this need is "isible
to the society or it is obfuscated by the sacrifices of indi"idual family members. -he need
itself is not homogeneous any more. +t is di"erse and depends on the types of !or# and
the life cycles of mothers. Further, as the di"orce rate increases, not only the types of
families but also the life-style choices of families also increase, and thus di"ersify the
needs of childcare.
-he recently established &inistry of Fender >8uality "ie!s childcare as mainly a gender
issue rather than a class one. +t see#s the establishment of a more comprehensi"e child-
care system that !ould greatly enhance !omen's participation to, and status in, the
society. n the other hand, the &inistry of Health and Welfare, !hich still has full
control o"er the system, insists on extending the system to support the poor and the
!or#ing class.

!ebate in Practice

From .445, the #indergarten ad"ocates ha"e proposed to ma#e the education for all 2-
year-old children as part of the national compulsory schooling. By comparing Korea's
percentage of preschool enrollment !ith those of other >C$ countries, the ad"ocates
ha"e persuaded the go"ernment, and the proposal !as accepted. +t means that the
establishment of half-day preschool education has no! become the top national priority
for early socialization. +t also proposes the establishment of a nationally standardized
education system for children o"er three years and a national care system for the infants
and toddlers under age three.
-he ad"ocates for )care) ha"e resisted these proposals. -hey "ie! them as a uniform
application of educational policy to address radically different demands in early
socialization. Further, they argue for the urgent extension of the child-care system to
school-age children. -he issue of the )unification of #indergarten and the day-care
system) has been a central theme of the debate among the people in both camps, and in
the related offices of go"ernment.
+n terms of theory and principle, it is rather a clear and simple demand, since both
institutions ser"e o"erlapping age groups 6from three to fi"e, that is, preschoolers7, and
e"eryone agrees that for these children, education and care should not be separated. But,
it is often speculated that conflicts of interest in the t!o camps and bet!een the related
go"ernment offices act as ma%or obstacles to the unification. -he t!o parties ne"er come
to terms !ith one another, since the #indergartens !ant to see a )#indergartenization) of
the day-care centers, and, on the other hand, the day-care centers prefer a process of
expanding the )full-day) care function to the #indergartens.
Ho!e"er, the current situation can also be "ie!ed as a reflection of social and cultural
di"isions at a deeper le"el. -here are many layers of larger di"isions in society that !ould
directly influence the di"ision of the t!o systemssuch as di"ided concepts of
mothering, radically different "ie!s on childhood, and different ideas about early
socialization in institutional settings. Furthermore, there are fundamental policy
differences regarding these institutions among three go"ernment offices? the &inistry of
>ducation, the &inistry of Health and Welfare, and the &inistry of Fender >8uality.
>ach system is supposed to respond to one set of needs and expectations of a different
segment of the population. *ometimes, the arbitrary di"ision of the system dictates the
choice of the people !ho are less dichotomized than the go"ernmental definitions. -he
di"ision itself guarantees a dichotomized experience for the children.
Ho! far can this di"ision bet!een )education) and )care) goG +s the current situation a
process of polarization of early socialization, or a process of e"entual integration of the
t!o systems and conceptsG -he ans!ers remain, in large part, dependent on changes in
the larger society? changes in the nature of !omen's participation in social labor, changes
in the mother's role in the domestic sphere, and changes in society's "ie! of educational
institutions and education itself. Ho!e"er, there are groups of people !ho belie"e in the
po!er of social action to ma#e and accelerate changes through their efforts, especially in
the day-care field.
+n order to challenge the dominant cultural patterns and social structure in Korea, some
indi"iduals and organizations, !ith progressi"e ideologies of class and gender issues,
utilize day care as transformati"e institution for socializing a ne! generationchildren
!ho !ill ac8uire alternati"e "alues and beha"iorsand for inducing concomitant
sociopolitical change.
While the ma%ority of #indergartens and day-care centers in contemporary Korea still
effecti"ely carry out conser"ati"e functions by practicing the collecti"ist and discipline-
oriented process of socialization, some centers, such as the )cooperati"e childcare)
6gongdong yuga7 centers, challenge them by de"eloping a radically permissi"e pedagogy
that emphasizes acti"ities in nature and at a tempo of daily life rather than a tightly
organized school-li#e schedule in the classroom 6Chung Byung-Ho .4407.
-hrough daily interaction, these experimental centers perform mediating functions by
de"eloping strong bonds bet!een child-care practitioners and parents, and among the
parents. Based on this social bond and these consciousness-raising efforts, the adults are
politicized through their in"ol"ement in institutional child-care practices, and become
organized to participate in "arious community-le"el social mo"ements and engage !ith
important concurrent social issues.
-hey ha"e opened the day-care field as a ne! arena !here the dominant concepts and
patterns of early socialization are constantly challenged and transformed. +n this context,
theory and practice in the Cooperati"e Centers ha"e become an excercise of )cultural
politics) 6Firoux .44.7 inter"ening in po!er structures.


Conclusion

Hesearch on early socialization in Korea has mainly focused on childhood experiences in
the home and familial relationships. -he strong ties bet!een mother and child ha"e been
considered crucial in formulating the later personalities, interpersonal relationships, and
adult social participation. *uch conceptions of uni"ersal experience in early socialization
are mostly based on conceptions of Korea in !hich a homogeneous national culture,
patriarchal family structure, and rigid gender-role di"ision are supposed to dictate social
life.
Ho!e"er, li#e families in any society that has undergone rapid industrialization, Korean
families ha"e also gone through all the characteristic changes attendant to the processes
of industrialization and urbanization. -he current problems emerge mainly from the
rapidity of these changes. -he speed of these societal changes has created serious
dissonance bet!een the traditional family ideology and the already di"ersified modes of
family li"es.
Wor#ing mothers and the issues of socialized childcare constitute one of the most
dynamic fields in !hich the contradictions of contemporary Korea can be seen. -he
dominant ideologies still dictate that mothers stay in the home, but, in reality, the
ma%ority of mothers !or# outside the home. -he hegemonic exercise of cultural
perceptions such as )full-time house!ife and mother) pushes !omen to lea"e the labor
mar#et during the childbirth and child rearing only to return to it later and recei"e much
lo!er !ages and positions. ,ccording to the dominant "alues, children under age fi"e
should be reared in the home by family members, but, in practice, institutional modes of
collecti"e child rearing are rapidly becoming popular among many families across
different classes and regions.
,s in other industrial societies, Korea, too, de"eloped its child-care system initially to put
mothers into the labor force 6Chung Byung-Ho .44/b7. But, during the last decade, the
focus of the system has gradually shifted from the mothers to the socialization of the
children. What children learn or experience in a child-care facility has become a greater
concern, since it touches on a "ariety of issues? e8uality 6or e8ual opportunity7 bet!een
children at home 6or in a half-day #indergarten7 and children in a full-day child-care
center; the nature of the center, !hether as a place for early schooling or for communal
li"ing; and the role of the center, !hether as a socializer of dominant "alues or of
alternati"e ideals.
*ocialized childcare itself has been considered to be a fundamentally sub"ersi"e practice
to the traditional family ideology. Co!, li#e the heated debate of )education) and )care)
for children of the same age group, the 8uestions of !ho controls, !hat #ind of program,
for !hom, and for !hat are more explicitly confronted and debated in many fields of
early socialization by groups !ith "aried and often contradicting expectations for future
generations.