Fathers take on more, but mothers still bear heavier domestic workload
For a 33-year-old bank employee surnamed Jung raising a 3-year-old son in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, coming home from work feels like starting a second shift. She uses a reduced working hours program for parents to leave work an hour or two early. Once her mother-in-law, who looks after the child while the couple are at work, heads home, Jung handles child care alone until her husband…
For a 33-year-old bank employee named Jung living in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, the end of her workday feels like the start of a second shift. To balance the demands of her job and family life, she utilizes a reduced working hours program for parents, allowing her to leave her office an hour or two earlier than her colleagues.
Upon her return home, Jung shoulders the responsibility of child care alone until her husband arrives. "As soon as I get home, I feed my son dinner, bathe him and play with him. By then, my husband is home," she explains. "While he plays with our son, I finally get to shower, wash the dishes and tidy up. Then it's time to put our son to bed."
Jung only gets a brief respite after her son has drifted off to sleep, usually after 10 p.m. "Even though I leave work early, it feels like I work overtime every day," she laments. "My husband does quite a lot of child care, but our son tends to seek me out more, and I feel that a larger share of the housework naturally falls to me."
Government figures released on Monday reveal that an uneven division of domestic duties persists among young working parents in the country.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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