Korea moving to embrace diverse family types

Members of activist groups, including Political Mamas and the Korean Hanbumo Association, hold a press conference in front of KBS in Yeouido, Seoul, April 14, to protest discrimination against single parents. This issue came up after the broadcaster decided to have Japanese TV personality Sayuri Fujita, who became an unmarried mother by choice, appear on a childcare program. Korea Times photo by Lee Yu-ji

By Bahk Eun-ji

Every country has a legal definition of and boundaries around what constitutes a "family," so that it can apply laws in regard to various family issues, such as childcare, household subsidies, inheritance and housing among others.

Such laws, however, can have adverse effects on people who do not fall into the legal concept of family, causing discrimination against them for not forming a "normal" family.

Korea has recently seen a debate on what kind of family is normal and what kind is not ― a debate sparked by, among other things, television personality Sayuri Fujita, who became an unmarried mother using artificial insemination and an anonymous sperm donor.

According to a 2020 government survey, 69.7 percent of respondents said people living together and making ends meet together should be recognized as a "family," even if they are not a married couple or do not have blood ties. Additionally, more than 55 percent of people in their 20s and 30s said that they can accept unmarried mothers, as in Sayuri's case.

Korea has seen the proportion of households comprising parents and unmarried children, traditionally considered the "typical family," decrease from 37 percent in 2010 to 29.8 percent in 2019.

In response, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced last month that it would begin discussions on expanding the legal concept of family to include more non-traditional types, such as unmarried partnerships. The plan is in accordance with the decline in marriages and the low birthrate, as well as the necessity to create an environment for all forms of family not to be discriminated against, the ministry said.

One of the plans includes allowing a couple to choose between the father's and the mother's surnames for their children at the time of birth. According to current regulations, a child must have the family name of the father, but the mother's surname is allowed if the parents agree when they register their marriage, not at the time of childbirth.

Lee Seol-ah, left, and Jang Dong-hyun, an activist couple, speak in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul, March 18, after filing a petition to review the constitutionality of the nation's family registration law. Yonhap

Civic activist couple Lee Seol-ah and Jang Dong-hyun said that when they asked about applying the mother's surname when registering their marriage at the district office last December, they were instructed to sign an agreement indicating their decision on the surname.

"It is questionable why our future child's surname should be decided at the time of our marriage registration, and why such an agreement is needed only when using the mother's last name and not needed when using that of the father," Lee said.

"It violates articles of the Constitution which state that marriage and family life are based on individual dignity and gender equality."

So the couple filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, asking it to review the constitutionality of the relevant law.

"The country's current traditional concept of family has plagued many minorities in our society. In order to put a small rupture in the entrenched framing of family that people consider normal, we decided to file a constitutional petition," Lee said during a press conference in front of the court, March 18.

The government's move has been welcomed by liberal parents' groups.

"We welcome the ministry's plan, because it is appropriate to embrace diverse forms of family in Korea," Kim Jung-deok, an activist from the civic group, Political Mamas, said.

Gender Equality and Family Minister Chung Young-ai speaks during a briefing on a new basic five-year plan for healthy families at the Government Complex Seoul, April 27. Yonhap

"People should be able to form the family or small community they want, and whichever diverse form of family that is, it's the government's job to guarantee the status of that family without discrimination," Kim said.

Oh Jin-bhang, manager of the Korean Hanbumo Association, an activist group supporting single parents, said, "When we carefully look at the government's plan, there are still several things that are not satisfactory in detail, such as housing support for single-parent families, but we welcome such attempts to create laws and systems that accept diversity."

"Not everything will change at once, but our society should move in a way that can reduce discrimination," Oh said.

Members of conservative religious groups hold a press conference in front of KBS on Yeouido, Seoul, April 15, to denounce the broadcaster's decision to have TV personality Sayuri Fujita appear on its childcare-themed TV program, saying that this decision encourages unmarried childbirth. Screenshot from the website of the Civic Group against Same-sex Marriage.

But conservative groups, including some religious organizations, are expressing concerns that such a legal revision could accelerate the "dissolution" of traditional families.

They say that drafting relevant policies requires a process of public discussion and sufficient consensus.

The United Christian Churches here, one of the largest associations of Protestant churches in Korea, released a statement saying that the country "needs to be careful not to accelerate the dissolution and differentiation of traditional homes and families."

"We are particularly concerned that the government's indiscriminate protection and plans to support various kinds of unmarried partnerships will dismantle the traditional marriage and family system," it said.

The Citizens' Coalition for Social Justice, a conservative civic group, also expressed concern over the government's move.

"The gender ministry's move may seem right for the sake of the protection of single mothers, but it is clearly contrary to Korea's unique practices and customs," said Shin Young-mu, the president of the organization.

"We need to change slowly through a national consensus and prevent the dissolution of the current family system," Shin said.

Experts suggest that the government should conduct a comprehensive survey in order to form a social consensus, because controversy is inevitable, as the plan covers sensitive issues, such as family, marriage and childbirth.

"There are always people who oppose change in society, so the government needs to come up with a detailed plan on how to persuade such people," said Jung Ik-joong, a social welfare professor at Ewha Womans University.

"In the long term, we need to educate children about various types of families and improve social awareness through an ongoing public campaign."

Jung Jae-hoon, a social welfare professor at Seoul Women's University, said, "If the government expands policy support for families with children, regardless of their specific forms of family ― such as unmarried domestic partnerships ― the concept of family will naturally become more diverse."

"In order for the gender ministry's plan to be effective, various policy changes should go with it, such as expanding housing support (currently offered only to newlywed couples) and medical insurance (currently offered only to legal family members) to more varied types of families," Jung said.