This qualitative study explores Korean transnational families, known as gireogi gah-jok. In this type of family, the mother and her children move to an English-speaking country for the children's education while the father stays and supports his family financially from the country of origin. We conducted interviews with thirteen mothers who resided with at least one adolescent child in the northwest area of the USA. Guided by symbolic interactionism, we examined how women perceived the gireogi family situation separated in the two countries and how their perception influenced their maternal roles as gireogi mothers. Findings indicate that these women reshaped their maternal self and renegotiated gendered roles in response to their residence in the foreign country and physical separation from their husbands. The findings also suggest that participants made an effort to maintain family cohesion by frequent communication using technology and sporadic reunions.

In this study, we explore the gap between the culture and conduct of paternal involvement with children among Korean middle-class and workingclass fathers. Using interview data from thirtytwo fathers following a period of national economic crisis, we find that Korean fathers negotiated among three contradictory and often ambiguous sets of cultural expectations: traditional Confucian fatherhood; work success as measure of good fatherhood; and "new" fatherhood that embraces providing and caregiving roles. Family involvement was limited for all fathers, although care for children was most directly shaped by strict or flexible working schedules. Middle class and working class fathers used different strategies to reduce the gap between conflicting cultural expectations for paternal caregiving and low levels of actual involvement with children, including delayed fatherhood, lowered expectations, and segregated roles.

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In order to understand how mothers develop their parenting styles under rapidly changing cultural contexts, this study examines and compares Korean upper-middle-class mothers' parental goals and real parenting practices as they reported. For this purpose, face-to-face in-depth interviews with 20 Korean mothers were conducted. By analyzing the data, we found that Korean mothers' parenting beliefs focused on `raising a child with good social and emotional characteristics', while their reported practices mainly concentrated on children's academic achievements. Korean mothers failed to connect their beliefs and behaviors because they tended to compare their parenting practices with those of other mothers. Although the mothers followed expectations from current Korean society, they constantly had to deal with guilty and uncomfortable feelings of not corresponding with their personal parental beliefs and goals.