Korea Foundation Professor of Sociology; Director, James Joo-Jin Kim 

Program in Korean Studies, University of Pennsylvania 

Hyeyoung Woo 
Professor of Sociology, Portland State University 

Eunsil Oh
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Asian Languages and Culture, University 

of Wisconsin-Madison

Moderated by Paul Chang, Associate Professor of Sociology, Harvard University

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About the Book
Korean families have changed significantly during the last few decades in their 

composition, structure,attitudes, and function. Delayed and forgone marriage,

fertility decline, and rising divorce rates are just a few examples of changes that 

Korean families have experienced at a rapid pace, more dramatic than in many 

other contemporary societies. Moreover, the increase of marriages between 

Korean men and foreign women has further diversified Korean families. 

Yet traditional norms and attitudes toward gender and family continue 

to shape Korean men and women’s family behaviors.

Korean Families Yesterday and Today portrays diverse aspects of the contemporary 

Korean families and, by explicitly or implicitly situating contemporary families within

a comparative historical perspective, reveal how the past of Korean families evolved 

into their current shapes. While the study of families can be approached in many

different angles, our lens focuses on families with children or young adults who are

about to forge family through marriage and other means. This focus reflects that

delayed marriage and declined fertility are two sweeping demographic trends

in Korea, affecting family formation. Moreover, “intensive” parenting has

characterized Korean young parents and therefore, examining change and

persistence in parenting provides important clues for family change in Korea.

This volume should be of interest not only to readers who are interested

in Korea but also to those who want to understand broad family changes

in East Asia in comparative perspective.

Generously supported by the SBS Research Fund at the Korea Institute, 

Harvard University