In Korea, Support Grows for Single Mothers

Sun Jae Lee·Grade 11, Korea International School

In Korea, single mothers not only face the heavy burden of having to take care of a child alone, but also are ostracized within society and looked down upon in shame.

Fortunately, support for single mothers is slowly and steadily growing.

In South Korea, Confucian cultural traditions have been upheld for centuries, and Confucianism deems the

traditional family unit as being more valuable than single parent households. Therefore, single mothers often face discrimination and are often blamed for being "irresponsible" with their lives and "easily deceived," falling victim to temptations like sex without being able to foresee the outcome of having a child without a partner.

Not only are single mothers looked down upon in shame by those around them, they also face discrimination from employers and are frequently abandoned by even their own families.

At job interviews, employers frequently inquire about marital status. When they find out about single motherhood, the ability to be "loyal" to a particular company often comes into question. Without being able to earn money, yet having to support two lives, many single mothers have no choice but to fall upon their families for support. However, not all families are supportive.

"My parents felt ashamed to have my son and I living with them, so we left the house," says Kim, a single mother who chose not to reveal her whole name, in an interview with JSR. "As soon as I had my child, I was branded as immoral and as a failure."

Kim continued, "It was like I had committed a crime." With all the difficulties that accompany becoming a single mother, about 96% of women that find themselves pregnant without a husband are pressured by family or friends to undergo abortion, according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. Of those that do end up giving birth, more than 70% give up their children to adoption. As a result, about 90% of all children that are adopted from Korea are given up by single mothers.

Fortunately, sympathetic groups are rising to the surface to assist single mothers. These groups, such as the Korean Unwed Mothers Families' Association (KUMFA), are gaining popularity. Welfare centers, like the Salvation Army Welfare Center for Single Mothers, are also providing single mothers with more support.

According to Nam Suk Choo, the Director of the Salvation Army Welfare Center for Single Mothers, society should do more to care for single mothers.

"People assume that if you're a single mother, you've been irresponsible and that you only ruined your life because of a mistake you made," Choo said in an interview with JSR, "but actually, that's usually not the case."

"Most single mothers I've seen have come from broken families and are desperate for affection that they've never received," Choo explained. "Others have had boyfriends that they thought they could trust but that left upon finding out about the pregnancy. It's not always the woman's fault."