Organizer and Chair: Seung-Kyung Kim, University of Maryland

Changes in the form and function of the Korean family and marriage at the beginning of the 21^st century are intricately related to the process of globalization. This panel examines the various ways that Korean family and marriage system have creatively and strategically responded to the recent local and global changes. In order to understand the ever changing nature of Korean families, we need to pay close attention to the following ideologies: the enduring structure of the family; weak emotional dependency between spouses; and the strong bond between mother and child. Against the backdrop of these entrenched family ideologies, Korean family behavior has changed drastically in the past decade: the country now has the lowest fertility rate in the world, and the second highest divorce rate among OECD countries. If these two phenomena reveal a new set of social norms, other phenomena—traveling to English speaking countries to give birth in order to provide citizenship for a child (wonjong ch’ulsan) and temporarily moving to English speaking countries to provide children with opportunities to learn English (kirogi kajok)—are based in continuing expectations of strong family obligations. Rather than understanding these phenomena simply as a crisis for Korean families, this panel argues that they should be understood as: 1) a creative rethinking of marriage; 2) a restructuring of the process of "emotional intimacy"; and 3) the pursuit of new and various family forms. The papers examine how individual family members understand "emotional intimacy" and how "emotional intimacy" manifests itself in their everyday lives.

Jae Kyung Lee, Ewha Womans University, Korea

At the beginning of the 21^st Century, the discourse about Korean patriarchal family is centered on the idea of "crisis": patriarchal authority has been declining; young women have been delaying their marriage and childbearing; the divorce rate has been increasing; and the gender division of labor has been blurring. The Korean government is concerned with the above issues and Korean mass media has been sensationalizing them as if the country is in a deep crisis. Starting from the discourse of "crisis," this paper, first, examines how the nature of conflicts between husbands and wives has changed over time. Second, it examines the various ways that couples negotiate their conjugal conflicts and navigate through their everyday lives. Third, the paper suggests a new paradigm for the future of the Korean family that imagines the Korean family beyond patriarchy.

Sung-Eun Lee, Ewha Womans University, Korea

This paper analyzes the relationship among romantic love, marriage and sexuality in contemporary Korea. Based on open-ended interviews with men and women who either are currently married or who have had marriage experiences, this paper examines how married couples perceive and construct the notion of romantic love and sexual intimacy, and how married couples consider issues related to extra-marital sexual relations and sexual intimacy. By examining these issues, this paper endeavors to understand sexual desire and pleasure among married couples, and to consider the ways that Korean men and women understand the relationship between their sexuality and other related issues, such as the decreasing rates of marriage and fertility, and the increase in the divorce rate. The paper argues that recent changes in marriage are closely related not just to macro, structural aspects—increase of women’s labor force participation—but to micro, individual aspects—couples’ understanding of sexual intimacy and sexual pleasure.

Seung-Kyung Kim, University of Maryland

The Kirogi kajok phenomenon (mother and children living in English speaking countries and father staying behind in Korea to work and support the family) started to appear among upper-middle class families around the mid-1990s, and has spread more widely in the past ten years. The Kirogi kajok phenomenon is located at the nexus of ever-changing local and global relationships. It is a product of rapid globalization, English as the hegemonic language in the global economy, Korea’s economic success and democratization, and the tremendous development of transportation and technology. The question, "why and how do these families move?" begs for multi-dimensional research approaches and consideration of multi-layered meanings of "family," "education," and "citizenship." Based on interviews with mothers in the U.S., this paper endeavors to understand the "cultural logics" behind these families’ quests for long-term economic success for the younger generation. These stories are important to hear because the Kirogi kajok phenomenon captures the moment in the ideological and practical re-working of fundamental values in a global and transnational context.