When it comes to household chores, Korean men missing in action: study

By Ko Dong-hwan

Married Korean men help with household chores the least among the global community, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

They spend 45 minutes a day on average on chores, while those from countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development invest 138 minutes. The Koreans do about 16.5 percent of household chores, leaving the rest to their wives. The rate is the lowest among the OECD countries, whose average was 33.6 percent.

The ministry analyzed data from the OECD and the Korea Labor Institute to see how Korean parents with children aged up to 14 managed their chores. It also looked at incomes. The report was released Monday.

The Korean figures were attributed to the fact that most men are the only wage earner and they work long hours.

Double-income families are more common in OECD countries than Korea ― 60 percent compared with 30 percent.

And more than 23 percent of Koreans worked 50 hours or longer a week, while the OECD figure was 13 percent.

A ministry official said Korea’s working environment is still more geared to men than women.

“To make more Korean mothers work, their husbands should help with house chores more and the conventional Korean working environments need to be changed,” the official told the Chosun Ilbo.