ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the changes that have occurred within the Korean family in order to understand the interlocking factors that have shaped it up to this point, and perhaps to give an indication as to what to expect in the future. The government was slow to modify its population policies, and even when fertility had dropped below the replacement level, it continued promoting birth control. In the 1980s, the government combined emphasis on a one-child policy and with its efforts to reduce gender imbalance in births with the slogan, “Having one well-raised daughter is no less than having ten sons.” Late marriage and low fertility rates have led directly to a decrease in household size. Sons were strongly preferred under Korea’s traditional Confucian family system, which was based on the succession of the eldest son to the position of family head.
