Hello, my name is Hyun Mee Kim and it is my great pleasure to introduce Korean society and its changes through this online course. Today's lecture will take a look at, how a form of modern family is born and made in contemporary Korea. We'll begin by discussing the role of manager moms in the making of modern Korean families, then move on to the recent changes in Korean families. Looking into the change in family structure, we will go over the rise of the singletons and single women population. Finally, this week's class will conclude with the ever more visible emergence of a transnational and multicultural families of Korea. The following contents of this video will try to introduce this concept as simply as possible. So, for further information regarding this concept, please refer to the additional readings that will be mentioned throughout this lecture. Now, let us look into a concept of manager moms. Typical Korean marriage and family is understood as a heterosexual institution. This sustains population reproduction through gendered division of labor. The system is based on the traditional dichotomy in gender roles with the male breadwinner and the female homemaker. The traditional division of labor allows families to accumulate capital more efficiently, thanks to the unpaid housework and child care of the women. Let me share a quote from a women's studies scholar, Cho Hyoung. From these, we can infer that marriage and pregnancy are not individual decisions for many Korean women. The benefits of these social reproductions were enjoyed at the expense of women's power in her societies. However, Korean women's role as mothers should not be understood with such simplicity. Korean women consider that they are moderate important at times and often it is their role as mothers that empower their position in the society, that mobilized their resources and locations. Mothers hold different nicknames in the Korean society. Among many of these names, one of the most popular is ‘Manager Moms’. Who are ‘Manager Moms’? These mothers manage their children's school work, GPAs, and strategies to enter prestigious universities. In the photo, we'll notice that mothers with serious grimace are making notes about university admission information with their red pens. This kind of fervor is prevalently observed image of Manager Mom in Korea. The abilities are determined by how much information they have access to and inefficient utility which will be used to finally have their children enter a prestigious university. This process begins from their children's kindergarten age. Once their children enters and graduates from elite universities, these young adults’ chance to white collar employment increase. In a way, the mother's management is looking ahead for their children's future for success. Here the children's success become an opportunity and tool for the whole family. Their success will secure, if not promote, the whole family's chance to maintain or become middle and upper class members of Korean society. In turn, the family's upward mobility is in the hands of moms. In the modern Korean society, individuals are expected to continuously develop as a creative and self-managed citizens. Manager moms are fostering such citizens through their own unpaid, domestic care management skills. Their labor is understood to be stemmed from natural motherly love. They are expected to be good in their management because they are natural caregivers and because they are responsible for their children's success. Their performance is judged by the children's performances but their work and success are not rewarded beyond praise. This maternal subjectivity is most vilified and pitied. Some view these mothers as those who are obsessed and who go beyond the social bounds to make their children succeed. Others are sorry that these women are de facto preys of the rigid competitive Korean education system. Also, the expected capacity of the manager moms, often promises their status as a middle class, full-time housewives with enough economic, cultural, and social resources. This makes working mothers or working class mothers feel relatively deprived and irresponsible for her children. We have looked into the advent of manager moms as a makers of the modern Korean family. For those of you who are interested in the topic, please refer to these papers.
