Divorce in South Korea: An Introduction to Demographic Trends, Culture, and Law

• Date: 01 October 2013
• Published date: 01 October 2013
• Author: Hyunjoo Shim,Insuk Choi,Bailey L. Ocker
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12054

DIVORCE IN SOUTH KOREA:AN INTRODUCTION TO

DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS, CULTURE,AND LAW

Hyunjoo Shim, Insuk Choi, and Bailey L. Ocker

This article presents a global overview of divorce-related phenomena as well as insight into the changes that have specif‌i-

cally occurred in South Korea over the past several decades. It aims to inform about the history of family law, the directions

of change over time, and the details of the changes that are most relevant to divorcing and divorced families. This article

consists of three parts. The f‌irst part provides a general overview of divorce trends as well as a detailed description of

more specif‌ic characteristics of patterns of divorce rates. It explains the driving forces behind these trends as a tool in

demonstrating the rapid change being experienced by South Korean families. The next part discusses recent changes in

family law that impact divorcing and divorced families, with a focus on innovative and revised laws emphasizing the

protection of minor children and gender equality. The last part evaluates the effectiveness of programs that ref‌lect these

recent changes.

Keypoints for the Family Court Community

• Coverage of most up-to-date divorce-related demographics and trends in South Korea

• Overview of the history of family laws and the directions of change over time

• Summary of family law changes that are specif‌ic to divorcing and divorced families

• Overview and evaluation of program and policies that have ref‌lected the family laws relevant to divorced families

Keywords: Culture;Divorce Rate and Trends;Family Law;Legal Policy and Programs;Program Evaluation;and

South Korea.

Over the past f‌ive decades, Korea has experienced tremendous economic, political, and socio-

cultural change. For example, per capita GNP skyrocketed to $20,165 in 2010, up from just $82 in

1961 (International Monetary Fund, 2010). Often labeled as compressed development (Chang &

Song, 2010; Kim, 2011), this ref‌lects the country’s rapid rates of both industrialization and urban-

ization. The societal changes driving these dramatic waves of industrialization and urbanization have

in turn affected the attitudes and beliefs of members of Korean society, leading to shifts in family

structure, functioning, and relationships. Specif‌ically, in terms of family structure, one-person/single-

parent households and remarried families, primarily the result of an increased number of divorces,

have been on the rise, while the more traditional extended and continuously married families have

been decreasing in number (The Statistics Korea, 2008).

In addition, over the past two decades, an emphasis has been placed on egalitarian beliefs and

attitudes (Kim, 1994), which has also inf‌luenced the nature of family relationships. The traditionally

paternalistic and patrilineal systems based on bloodlines and hierarchies have been replaced by

increasingly egalitarian views toward less privileged classes, as demonstrated by the recent

empowerment and elevated standing of women (Lee, 2008) and children (Han, 2010). As family

ties have been loosened with the advancement of individualism (Kim, 1994), rigidity in the role

divisions of husbands and wives has also been signif‌icantly challenged, forcing family members to

be more f‌lexible in the undertaking of roles, including both those within the home and those outside

of it.

With societal transitions continuing to impact the nature of family life, family dissolution

has simultaneously increased markedly (Huh, 2002). For example, family laws have been

Correspondence: Hjs8t@virginia.edu; aneschoi@gmail.com; blo9n@virginia.edu

FAMILY COURTREVIEW, Vol. 51 No. 4, October 2013 578–590

© 2013 Association of Familyand Conciliation Cour ts