Marital Conflicts and Women's Identities in the Contemporary Korean Family

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate contradictions in Korean women's identities as wives, mothers, daughters-in-law, and daughters, as manifested in marital conflict. The contradictions in and negotiation of women's multiple identities in the family portray change in the Korean family, wherein marital equality has become increasingly important. It is thereby seen that married women are unhappy because they lack the support of husbands in housework and childcare. The women also bear the physical and emotional burden of fulfilling responsibilities towards their in-laws, while their husbands tend to have an indifferent attitude towards their wives' parents. While the ideal of the conjugal family is pursued, the identity of mother has a prominent status and provides stability under the given patrilineal customs, especially if the woman has a son. The identity of mother is an important factor in reconciling the multiple identities of women, as a result of the fact that children are primarily considered to belong to the father's family. Simultaneously, the identity of mother signifies the centrality of children in the contemporary Korean family. In contrast, the identity of married daughter is a potential source of marital conflict, questioning the privileged relationship with parents-in-law. While such a situation is never stable, as signified in women's contesting identities, nonetheless, it implies that the patriarchal family order is being challenged in contemporary Korean society.