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In 2016, I had the chance to conduct research on family and the economy of Korea from a feminist theological perspective. In that paper, titled, "Who is My Family? A feminist Theological Study of 2016 Global Economy, Family and Women," I attempted to deal with close relationships between the global neoliberal economy, family and women's lives.
Even at that time, I was quite astonished to find out that one-person households constituted the largest segment in Korea, and that the disintegration of the family, due to things such as cases of murder by family members or cases of suicide by family members, is pervasive. What caused such phenomena? I argued and pointed out that factors such as low growth, the constant structural realignment of corporations, the normalization of employment instability and subsistence instability caused by the intensification of labor flexibility have all been contributing factors.
Now in 2022, how has family changed? To my knowledge, the above-mentioned phenomena seem to have deteriorated further. The percentage of one-person households or families among all types of family has continuously increased.
According to one report, the rate of one-person households (families) comprised the largest portion, namely, about 40 percent of all households in Korea in 2021. I could even find some materials and pamphlets from my district office that introduce several policies for those living alone. Those policies are as follows: to accompany one-person households when going to the hospital, to help them cook and eat well with nutritious food and to support safety measures using items such as auxiliary door locks and CCTV. As the percentage of female one-person households is even more than that of male one-person households, and such women have been susceptible to serious sex crimes, the quality of these women's lives and safety issues have become social issues.
What has led to the current situation of the Korean family? There are plenty of factors. However, above all, economic factors come first. That is to say, as house prices have skyrocketed, many folks ― in particular, younger people ― have become deeply frustrated. Chances are slim that if they work hard, they can buy their own homes and live decent lives. Thus, they cannot even think about or dream of marriage and afford to get married. Simple and clear. Even if they get married, they are likely to retire or get fired at relatively earlier ages. As for women, wives are still supposed to comply with their parents-in-law in many circumstances. Raising and educating their children is frustrating too, as the social ladder to so-called success and gaining power has become more and more fixed and inflexible.
It is frequently reported that people and families have become more and more individualized and self-centered. They only care about themselves and their own family members. In particular, Koreans are very well known to be a nation that values their own blood, kin relationships and families.
Nonetheless, now is the time when almost half of Korea's population is living alone without anyone to think much of as family. This reality means that we need to have a different approach to the issue of the family from a feminist theological perspective.
Dr. Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.
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