By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
When 19-year-old Kim Yun-hee (pseudonym) found herself pregnant 15 months ago, she felt devastated. ``I wanted to kill myself,'' she said. Her relationship with the baby's father, who was also a high school student at the time, fell apart and she suddenly felt alone.
Her parents did not approve of their daughter's ``wild'' behavior and she had to leave home to give birth to her child.
Now she is raising her daughter, Kim Uri (pseudonym) at a shelter. However, as time passed, she discovered that the life of a single mother is more difficult than she thought.
Apart from the social prejudice toward single mothers, there are financial burdens_ she could barely make a living because she is just a high school dropout. There are no permanent or stable jobs for her.
``I want to start a new life for Uri. But these days her powdered milk costs around 20,000-30,000 won per can, and my not having a high school graduation certificate hinders our future,'' she sobbed.
She said she wants to study ― something she did not recognize the necessity in the past. However, it would cost about 1.3 million won for her to enroll in cram school to prepare for the qualification tests for university entrance.
There are tens of thousands of such cases in Korea. In 2005, the government estimated 1.37 million households were single-parent families and observers expect around 10 percent of them to be young single mothers without any financial stability.
``In fact, the number is higher. I have seen women reluctant to identify themselves as single mothers out of fear of social prejudice,'' Ki Yun-young of the Social Welfare Society said.
However, the government's welfare policy barely meets their needs.
Under the current law, a single parent family can receive 50,000 won monthly per child up to eight years of age. ``The other benefits provided, such as discounts for school, aren't that practical,'' Ki said.
They can also move into state-lease apartments but have to wait indefinitely and have their status verified, which often makes mothers feel humiliated over their ``past'' and their ``economic vulnerability,'' she added.
Civic groups are holding online campaigns to support single mothers to take qualification examinations. As of Friday, more than 300 netizens have donated 950,000 won to help young mothers at www.daum.net's Agora page.
Campaigner Song Eun-kyung, a manager at the welfare group, said providing second educational chances for these mothers is extremely important because it secures them the chance to be with their children
``Those who take the tests and receive higher education tend to accept the barriers and prejudices around them but also fight against them. They later find their lot easier than those who don't. They are less reluctant to identify themselves as single mothers and have greater joy in life,'' she said.
``In this way, we can reduce the number of abandoned children. We can also save our country from being one of largest adoptee-exporting countries,'' she said.