• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.53-68
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to highlight the importance of 'marital preparation skill' by focusing on more substantial and tangible skills in marriage life, and to conduct an exploratory research to examine the current conditions and gender differences in marital preparation skills of college students. Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire in four universities located in Seoul and Gyeong-gi areas in the spring of 2013, and a total of 332 senior students chosen were used for data analysis. Based on the instrument used in Olson & Olson's(2000) PREPARE/ENRICH Program, the present study sought to suggest a measurement tool with the moniker of 'marital preparation skill' that included seven domains: conflict resolution skill, sexual relationship skill, household labor skill, financial management skill, leisure management skill, parenting preparation skill, and parental role skill. Each domain consisted of four items and thus, a total of 28 items were utilized for this study. Descriptive statistics were analyzed in order to examine the degree of marital preparation skills, and t-tests were conducted in order to assess the gender differences in marital preparation skills. The main results of this study are as follows: First, overall the degree of marital preparation skills of male students was higher than that of female students. Particularly, female students were lower than male students in the skills of financial management and conflict resolution. Second, regarding the basic household labor skill related to clothing and housing life, male students showed higher than female students, implying the impact of military life. Third, even though the degree of consciousness about appropriate preparation of parenthood and parental role seemed to be heightened, the actual degree of readiness of college students revealed to be insufficient. Male students had a much higher degree of confidence and sacrifice acceptance about parenthood, and understanding about their parents' child-rearing style than female students, while the mindset of child-rearing participation of male students was lower than that of female students. Findings of this study can be used as basic data for developing more effective and differentiated educational programs of marital preparation skills for men and women.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.53-85
• /
• 2020

We examine how certain occupational physical requirements affect labor transitions of disabled workers by exploiting a unique feature of South Korean Disability Insurance (DI), where award rules are based solely on an applicant's medical condition, independent of his previous occupations. We estimate the labor market response to a health shock by constructing a physical intensity measure from O^⁎NET and applying it to longitudinal South Korean household panel data. Our results suggest that health shocks initially lead to a 14 to 20 percent drop in employment and that this effect is greater for workers who previously held physically demanding occupations. Those who remain part of the labor market exhibit higher occupational mobility toward less physically demanding jobs. These findings imply that the magnitudes of income risks associated with health shocks vary depending on occupational and skill characteristics.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.255-286
• /
• 2001

The development of language skills among immigrants is important for their economic adjustment in their host societies since language is an important dimension of the skill levels of immigrants relevant for the labor markets of the host countries. Moreover, language plays a key role in the social adjustment of immigrants and in the social and political cohesion particularly in the society like the US that has diverse racial and ethnic groups. The main purposes of the present study are to analyze the determinants of English abilities of Korean and other Asian immigrants in the US. The present study utilizes the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS, S, 5%) in the US. We adopted the ordered probit technique to analyze qualitative differences of English ability. The study found that English fluency increases with a longer duration in the US, the presence of children in the household, living in an area in which a smaller proportion speak ones mother tongue, a younger age at immigration, a higher level of schooling. However, there are marked variations in levels of English proficiency among Asian immigrants.