Journal of Philosophical Investigations

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Professor, Department of Public Administration, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

State-building in South Korea since liberation in 1945 has seen some successes. However, from a care perspective—considering that women and families bear the primary burden of care responsibilities, the discrimination and disadvantages caregivers face both at home and in the labor market, and the reality that few are willing to engage in marriage, childbirth, or caregiving—it is challenging to evaluate the overall success of state-building in South Korea to date. This article highlights the diverse temporalities that have emerged in modern state-building in South Korea since 1945 and examines how these various temporalities serve as structural constraints on care. Amid the compressed timelines of state-building, I analyze how care is systematically overlooked, silenced, and marginalized; how it is devalued; how it is relegated to women’s and family work; and how caregivers experience discrimination and disadvantages, alongside the ideologies, norms, and socio-economic and political conditions and circumstances that contribute to these issues.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Bloch, E. (1935). Erbschaft dieser Zeit [Heritage of our times]. Suhrkamp Verlag.
Cha, M.-K. (2025). South Korea’s female labor force participation rate remains at the bottom of the OECD for 20 years. Daily Pop. (In Korean)
Cho, E.-J. (2018). Family and governing: How population became a political issue. Changbi. (In Korean)
Choi, D.-S. (2018). Korean man. Eunhangnamu. (In Korean)
Choi, H.-K. (2018). The long-term care insurance system for the elderly and care justice. Korean Social Policy, 25(3), 103–130. (In Korean)
Choi, H.-M. (2024, September 28). Interview with Young Mi Choi: Domestic workers are the litmus test of labor rights. Women’s Newspaper. (In Korean)
Choi, J.-J. (1996). Conditions and prospects of democracy in Korea. Nanam. (In Korean)
Choi, Y. S. (2023). Connected mothers, amplified voices, and the emergence of new feminist subjects. Media, Gender & Culture, 38(4), 5–43. (In Korean)
Hong, Y.-J. (2023, September 26). 9.5 million people over 65... 1 in 5 in two years. Financial News. (In Korean)
Im, H.-B. (2014). Simultaneity of non-simultaneous: Multiple temporalities of modern politics in Korea. Korea University Press. (In Korean)
Kang, J.-I. (2014). Park Chung Hee and contemporary Korean political thought. Acanet. (In Korean)
Kang, M.-J. (2018). A theoretical study of the care movement (Master’s thesis). Graduate School of Public Administration, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. (In Korean)
Kaur, H. (2024,). After Trump’s win, some are considering the 4B movement. CNN US.
KBS. (2024). 3.7 million won per month to hire caregivers... 60% of children’s income. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXEnvT5wl7I (In Korean)
Kim, H.-K. (2016). Is the long-term care insurance in South Korea a socializing care policy? Critical Social Policy, 36(4), 1–19.
Kim, H.-K. (forthcoming). Care ethics and care policies in South Korea. In M. Carter (Ed.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Care Ethics. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kim, H.-S. (2022). Private and home childcare workers still ‘below minimum wage.’ OhmyNews. (In Korean)
Kim, J.-H., & Ahn, H. (2024). Bankruptcy or unfilialness: The ‘swamp of caregiving costs.’ Legal News. (In Korean)
Kim, J.-M., & Choi, S. (2013). Discrimination in employment, marriage... Modern-day ‘scarlet letter’ of military immunity. E-Daily. (In Korean)
Kim, W.-J., & Lim, Y.-K. (2020). The current status of care work in the context of COVID-19: Focusing on changes in the size and wages of care workers, 2008–2019. KWDI Brief, 58, 1–11. (In Korean)
Kim, Y., & Kim, S.-J. (2021). Childcare labor in the pandemic era: Old inequalities and new risks. Feminist Studies, 21(2), 39–88. (In Korean)
Kim, Y.-S. (2013). The overworked society. Imaejin. (In Korean)
Lee, G.-B. (2017). 10-year evaluation of long-term care insurance for the elderly from the perspective of caregivers and needs for improvement. Paper presented at the Debate for the Comprehensive Reform of Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly. (In Korean)
Lee, Y.-K., et al. (2022). 2022 Long-term care survey. Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. (In Korean)
Military Manpower Administration. (2015, September 17). Illegally staying overseas, dodging military service, unable to work in Korea. Korea Policy Briefing.
Min, H.-J., et al. (2007). Policy issues for creating jobs for women in social services. Korean Women’s Development Institute. (In Korean)
Ministry of Health and Welfare. (2022). Health statistics. (In Korean)
Moms for Politics. (2018). Moms for Politics win. The Power of Thought. (In Korean)
Park, H.-J. (2023). Korea ranks second among OECD countries in working hours... ‘Poor work-life balance.’ Money Today. (In Korean)
Ryu, Y.-K. (2023). Korea’s income inequality rises to the 2nd fastest in OECD. Hankyoreh. (In Korean)
Seo, S.-Y. (2017). How to make long-term care services more public. National Assembly Research Service. (In Korean)
Shin, Y.-M., & Kim, T.-I. (2022). An international comparative study on care work characteristics and wage levels. Journal of Policy Analysis and Evaluation, 32(4), 1–22. (In Korean)
Statistics Korea. (2020). 2019 living time survey results press release. (In Korean)
Um, S.-H. (2023). Solidarity politics of care workers in the movement for legislating the Domestic Workers Act in Korea (Master’s thesis). Graduate School of Sociology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. (In Korean)
Yoon, J.-Y. (2018). Conceptualizing and measuring care work hours: Focusing on child care work. Journal of Women’s Studies, 35(2), 171–200. (In Korean)
Yoon, T.-R. (2001). Motherhood in Korea. Future Manpower Institute. (In Korean)
Young, I. M. (2000). Inclusion and democracy. Oxford University Press.
CAPTCHA Image