May 8th was 어버이 날 or Parents Day in South Korea. Parents Day is a day in which Korean parents are thanked and honored. In some elementary schools, parents actively participate in race relays with their children. There may also be a letter reading event, where children write a letter to their parents. The contents of the letter typically include the children’s gratitude and acknowledgement of the hard work involved in being a parent.

Nuclear families are on the rise in South Korea, and extended families are becoming an anomaly. More people are moving to the cities to obtain competitive jobs. This has caused space to be limited and expensive. As a result, you can find many aging parents and grandparents in rural areas, making a living off of farming. Therefore, Parents Day is an important day where people go down to the countryside to see their parents.

In the past, many Korean women were housewives. Their main responsibilities included running the house and taking care of their husbands’ parents. Today, more women are remaining in the workforce longer, to help support their families. For some women, working is not a matter of choice. The rising cost of living and raising a child have forced some women to at least get part time jobs. Since more women are working and unable to take on the extra duty of taking care of parents, some elderly people have chosen to live alone.

Some people have expressed a concern about the way Korean society is changing. As nuclear families grow, there is a worry that the Korean government may have to carry the burden of taking care of abandoned parents. There is also a concern that values like filial piety may become obsolete. While it’s clear that a change is occurring in Korean society, is this a change that will benefit Korea in the long run?