Social Policy in South Korea: Cultural and Structural Factors in the Emergence of Welfare

Abstract

There are a number of features that make South Korea an interesting place to study social policy. First, it has experienced rapid economic development with the associated changes in urbanization and demography. This change has created social problems, which the state has had to address. Second, the country retains a strong cultural tradition and repeated affirmation of the values and practices of Confucianism. In this paper, these two features are considered in relation to the way social policy has been addressed. The thrust of the paper will be on the policy responses to perceived social problems and the way in which other social problems are individualized within families. These policies are informed and shaped by Korean politics and culture.

Concern about the rise of lazy welfare queens? An empirical explanation of the underdevelopment of the redistributive welfare system in South Korea

“…For example, researchers focus on the influence of the Confucian culture which is claimed to lead to familybased welfare provisions (Jones, 1990(Jones, , 1993Shin & Shaw, 2003), the role of path-dependence going back to the developmental state ideology that emphasized growthfirst-distribution-later in the 1960s and 1970s (Park, 2011;Ramesh, 1995;White & Goodman, 1998), and the importance of civic forces or social cleavage (Kim, 2008;Woo, 2011). Despite a growing consensus that statistical analysis can reveal the determinants of welfare and redistribution worldwide, welfare experts have not yet employed quantitative approaches for investigating welfare and redistribution in South Korea and East Asia.…”

Linking family engagement with a rights perspective: macro factors influencing practice

“…The role of government in producing changes toward family engagement practice may be partly a factor of institutionalized political systems and partially linked with culture as well. Thus, although South Korea demonstrates cultural values toward family life, this does not necessarily translate into government supports for families; political perspectives might suggest that social services for families would be detrimental to cultural views regarding the preeminence of caretaking roles by family members (Shin & Shaw, 2003). These political and cultural arguments about the role of government in family life are a chronic fundamental tension in the U.S. but are not typically controversial in Sweden.…”

“…In application to the development of social welfare policies, Shin and Shaw (2003) suggest there has been a deliberate governmental strategy not to develop a supporting social infrastructure of modern welfare state packaged social services asthese types of policies might undermine the neo-Confucian tradition of family care for dependents.…”

Policy context of the poor progress of the pro-poor policy: A case study on the Medical-Aid policy during Kim Dae-jung's Government (1998–2002) in the Republic of Korea

“…Further, the country continues to suffer from an imbalance of power. There are serious deficiencies in the rule of law and a need for a proper restraint on executive power [29]. In short, it has been a time when "the old order collapses and the new order is yet unborn" [30].…”