• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.453-466
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• 2022

This study attempted to examine the role of gender roles in psychological distress of Korean adult men. Specifically, it was attempted to verify whether compliance with multidimensional male gender roles predicts psychological distress through gender role conflict. To this end, this study was conducted on 358 male participants aged 19 to 39 using the Korean Conformity to Masculine Norm Inventory, Korean Male Gender Role Conflict Scale, and General Health Questionnaire. As a result of the study, it was found that the influence on psychological distress through male gender role conflict was different depending on the sub-factors of the male gender norm. The sub-factors of masculine norms, 'power and control', 'job - independence', and 'emotion suppression', were statically predicted psychological distress through the medium of 'fear for femininity', which is a sub-factor of gender role conflict. Meanwhile, among the male norms, 'male leadership' and 'family support' had negative direct effects on psychological distress, and the indirect effects through gender role conflict were not significant. The results of this study suggest that the sub-factors of male norms have different functions for psychological distress, and in particular, the dysfunctional role of male norms can be caused by negative emotions about femininity during gender role conflict.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.31-51
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• 2010

This study investigates changes in family values (attitudes toward marriage, children, and traditional sex roles) and examines how the values influence on their intentions of marriage and expected age at first marriage. A sample consists of 5,984 never married men and women drawn from the 2005 and 2009 National Marriage and Fertility Study. The results show that the endorsement on marriage and children has decreased while endorsement on traditional sex role attitude has increased over the past five years. Those who have higher values on marriage, children, and traditional sex role have a higher likelihood of marriage intention. However, the effects of the family values on marriage intention have weakened during the period. The endorsement on marriage lowers the mean ages of the expected first marriage. Comparing the effects of the family values during the period, this study find that normative aspects of the family values have lower effects, whereas individual aspects of the values have stronger effects over time. These findings suggest that the effects of family values vary across sex, time, and the aspect of the values.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.58
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• pp.5-36
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• 2017

This study aims to empirically analyze whether the women's cognitive attitude toward gender role, which is formed through social norms, enforces the gender division of housework. In this study, 4,435 married women aged 18-59 years from the 5th wave dataset of Korean Longutudinal Survey of Women and Family Data were selected for analysis. Using the Structural Equation Model(SEM), we examine the direct effect of "attitude toward behavior" and "subjective norm" on the domestic working hours and whether those two independent variables, such as "attitude toward behavior" and "subjective norm," influence the mediator variable "Behavior Intention" which in turn affect the dependent variable. The study reveals that "attitude toward the gender division of housework" has a statistically significant direct effect on the domestic working hours as well as an indirect effect operating through "behavior intention." And"subjective norm "has only a statistically significant indirect effect on the domestic working hours, operating through "behavior intention." Despite the fact that many women are now aware that various work-life balance policies are avaliable to mitigate the gender inequality of domestic works, it is proven that the gender division of housework becomes worse. The reason behind this is not only because there exist some problems in implementing the institutions themselves, but also because women's deeply internalized self-perception of gender role based on the traditional patriarchal culture somehow exacerbates the gender division of housework. Hence, in order to instill a progressive change in gender division of housework, it is important for women to try to change the way they perceive the stereotypical gender roles as well as for men to treat women equally.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.33-62
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• 2005

This study aims to explain the current upheaval in marriage that many young Korean men and women postpone or deny their marriage. In order to explain the delayed marriage, we need to understand the taste by which men and women choose their partners, the opportunity by which they find their ideational half in reality, and the context in which these values and opportunities of marriages intersect. This study examines the way in which the value and opportunities of marriage among Korean men and women have intersected differently in the changing economic conditions. Using KLIPS(Korea Labor Income Panel Survey, 1998-2002), differential effects of education and occupational status on marital time according to marriage cohort and gender are analyzed. Results find that the opportunity of marriage among men turns out to have been stratified significantly according to their educational achievement and labor status since the 1990s. For women, education and economic activities are likely to influence marriage decision in a discordant way; during the period of 1990-997, highly educated women are more likely than their counterparts to be married earlier while there is no significant difference according to economic activities. This implies that status homogamy has been intensified since the 1990s and many women with high motivation for social status are able to achieve a vicarious social status through marriage in a prosperous economy. For women married after 1998, however, the educational effect is insignificant but economic activity contributes to delaying marriage. This suggests that under the economic restructuring since the late 1990s, the constraint of opportunities finding decent jobs particularly for men results in the contingent change in women's perception about family roles and economic activities by reducing their expectation to achieve a vicarious status through marriage, but increasing their motive for their own economic activities.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.137-163
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• 2010

This study examines how individual, familial, and social factors are associated with persistent very low fertility in Busan Metropolitan City and contemplates family-friendly environments and social strategies for fertility increase. Fertility decline in Busan Metropolitan City recorded the lowest birth rate nationwide recent years among metropolitan cities and provinces in Korea. Birthrates are low partly because of multiple factors such as high age at childbearing and at marriage, decline in marriage, high divorce rate, the phenomena of marriage avoidance among unmarried women, traditional gender role attitude of men, low domestic work participation of husbands among dual career couples, low marital satisfaction and family life satisfaction, abortion, and more broader attiributes such as family policy, availability of childcare, education expenses, and family-friendlyness of a society. In addition, women of dual career couples in Busan strained from domestic work overload under traditional norms of gender role, and marital satisfaction recorded below average nationwide along with espeacially low marital satisfaction of wives compared to that of husbands. Major aspects of implications and considerations for higher birth rate and family friendly policy in Busan are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.111-125
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• 2012

The total fertility rate of our nation has been in the world's lowest level with constant falling since it reached an all-time low in 1983. The increase in economic participation of women, difficulties to balance work and family life, and traditional gender role and family norms in our society have been blamed for causing low birth rates. In addition, the current economic recession and increased polarization of wealth make it more difficult for working families to balance work and family life, resulting in lowering fertility rates. The Korean government has recently prepared the second five-year basic plan(2011-2015) to deal with low fertility and population ageing. The basic plan aims at providing support for working families in balancing work and family life and helping people ease the burden of marriage, childbirth, and raising their children. The work-family balance policies based on gender equality will do much to increase fertility rates in the future. In this context, this study examined current status and problems of balancing work and family life in our society, the Korean government and corporate policies for work-family balance, and the effects of policies on childbirth. Suggestions for future directions are presented.

• 한국노년학
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.785-808
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• 2016

This study portraits the way of self-preparation for death among the elderly and examines the meaning and values attached to the elderly-care by their family and friends through the analysis of Kyung-ran Jo's novels. First, the author describes the difficulties and inner conflict of women who provide care for the elderly, especially those facing death in the near future. She also describes how the acceptance of death and self-discovery among the caregivers can be developed from the experience of long term care. These are consistent with the arguments by Ecofemnist on positive sides of providing caregiving in an aging society. In her novels, caregiving from young women is not described as the consequences of internalized gender norms of traditional Confucian culture. Rather, it is depicted as attitude toward a life in a commune where the meaning of life and death of elderly is shared between generations. In addition, struggles of the elderly figures against diseases and the process of their death provide an opportunity for young caregivers to overcome the trauma of other's death witnessed in their childhood. They lead the young caregivers to reflect themselves by raising ontologistic questions on life and death. The author shows the communication between generations presenting the self-preparation of death from the old generation undergoing irreversible aging and caregiving activities of significant others from the young generation. In doing so, the author points out the ethical grounds for diseases and death in old age given the condition of personalization of death in the modern society.