• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.19-44
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• 2013

The present study aimed at investigating how Korean housekeeper in midlife revaluate their lives. For this purpose, 14 housekeepers whose youngest child was at least older than high school students were interviewed in a semi-structured retrospective method. The interview was focused on relational, psychological, and economical aspects of the participants before and after marriage each. The interview usually continued one and a half to two hours. The phenomenological method describing personal meaning of experiences was referred to for data analyses by transforming retrospective life story of participants into key meaningful units. According to main retrospective contents of each stage of development, the participants' childhood and adolescence was characterized by familial circumstances, formation of personality and value, and career choice. Main themes of their early adulthood were spouse selection and marriage, marital adaptation, and family relationships. Their midlife focused on children, economic and emotional stability, family relationships, acceptance of their spouse and themselves, and health and religion. Life styles of the participants were analyzed in terms of turning events, meanings of current life, and cumulative effects of life events. These findings were discussed in terms of developmental pattern in relation to the established theory of development.