Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social Policy Reforms and Gender in Japan and South Korea

  • Chapter
Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context

Part of the book series: Social Policy in a Development Context ((SPDC))

Abstract

Feminists are sharply divided into two camps on the issue of family and gender policies in Japan and South Korea (henceforth Korea). On the one hand are those who claim that despite the remarkable developments in the social, economic and political spheres, very little has changed in terms of women’s status (Moon 2002). Proponents of this `no real change’ perspective point to these countries’ poor records in the Human Development Report (HDR) indices on gender equality (Gender Development Index or GDI, and Gender Empowerment Measure or GEM) as evidence of the persistence of gender inequality. Indeed, both Japan and Korea are amongst the lowest in the international rankings, and Japan has fallen even further behind in recent years despite the government’s claimed efforts to advance gender equality.’ Based on these figures, there is good reason for scepticism about these developmentalist economies’ abilities to ensure gender equality. As feminist studies have shown, economic growth in many East Asian countries has occurred simultaneously with gender inequality in both public and private spheres (Seguino 1997; Hsuing 1996).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Cabinet Office, Japan (2005) Danjo Kyodo Sankaku Hakusho, 2004 (2004 White Paper on Gender Equality), Tokyo: Cabinet Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, Namhoon (2000) ‘Social Impact of Korea’s Low Fertility Rate’. Chislin IIbo, 1 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eto, Murase Mikio (2001) ‘Public Involvement in Social Policy Reform: Seen from the Perspective of Japan’s Elderly-Care Insurance Scheme’. Journal of Social Policy, 30(1): 17–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Democratic Party of Japan (2002) Tayona Lifestyle wo Ikiru Jidai no Jiritsu to Anshin no Seisaku (Policies for Independence and Security in the Age of Different Lifestyles). Tokyo: Minshuto Seisaku Chosa Kai.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelb, Joyce (2004) Gender Policies in Japan. New York: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, Roger and Ito Peng (1996) ‘East Asian Social Welfare States’. In Gosta Esping-Andersen (ed.) Welfare States in Transition. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, Roger, Gordon White and Huck-ju Kwon (1998) The East Asian Welfare Model: Welfare Orientalism and the State. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higuchi, Keiko (1997) ‘Kaigo no Shakai-ka wo Koshite Susumeta’ (How We Promoted Socialization of Care). In Higuchi, Keiko (ed.) Chiiki de Miru, Minna de Mitoru: Joseiga Susumeru Kaigo no Shakaika (Everyone in the Community Takes Care of the Elderly: Women Promoting Socialization of Care). Kyoto: Minerva Shobo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holliday, Ian (2000) ‘Productivist Welfare Capitalism: Social Policy in East Asia’. Political Studies, Vol. 48: 706–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Joo-Yun (2005) ‘Poll Shows Shift in Korea’s Priorities’. Joong Ang Daily, 23 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsiung, Ping-Chan (1996) Living Rooms as Factories: Class, Gender and the Satellite Factory System in Taiwan. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iida, Keisuke (2004) ‘Human Rights and Sexual Abuse: The Impact of International Human Rights Law on Japan’. Human Rights Quarterly, 26(2): 428–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwakami, Mami (2000) ‘Shoshi-Koreika Shakai no Oyako Kankei: 30dai wo shoten ni shite kangaeru (Parent-Child Relationship in the Low Fertility and Ageing Society: with a Focus on People in their 30s)’. Seikatsu Kyodo Kumiai Kenkyu, Vol. 2: 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, Catherine Finer (1990) ‘Hong Kong Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan: Oikonomic Welfare States’. Government and Opposition, 25 (Autumn): 446–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, Catherine Finer (1993) ‘The Pacific Challenge: Confucian Welfare States’. In Catherine Jones (ed.) New Perspectives on the Welfare State in Europe. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Byung-Kook (2000) ‘The Politics of Crisis and a Crisis of Politics: The Presidency of Kim Dae-Jung’. In Kongdan Oh (ed.) Korea Briefing, 1997–1999: Challenges and Change at the Turn of the Century. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Sang Kyun (2003) ‘A Systemic Reform of Korean National Pension Scheme’. Paper presented at the Canada-Korea Social Policy Research Symposium, Seoul, 22–23 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Young-hoon (2003) ‘Women Delay Marriage, Report Shows’. Joong Ang Daily, 3 July.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean National Statistics Office (KNSO) (1996) Report on Population Census. Seoul, KNSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean National Statistics Office (KNSO) (2001) Report on Population Census. Seoul, KNSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean National Statistics Office (KNSO) (2003) Future Household Projection. Seoul, KNSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean National Statistics Office (KNSO) (2005) Report on Population Census. Seoul, KNSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) (2004) Statistical Chart on Women. Seoul: KWDI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koreika Shakai wo Yokusuru Josei no Kai (ed.) (1998) Tomodaore ka Tomodachi Shakai he (Together We All Collapse or Together We Support Together). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, Huck-ju (2001) ‘Globalization, Unemployment and Policy Responses in Korea: Repositioning the State?’ Global Social Policy, 1(2): 213–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Hyekyung (1999a) ‘Globalization and the Emerging Welfare State — the Experience of South Korea℉. International Journal of Social Welfare, 8: 23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Hyekyung (2005) ‘Civil Society and Welfare Reforms in Post-Crisis South Korea’. Paper presented at Canada-Korea Social Policy Research Cooperation Symposium, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Canada, 26–27 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Heykyung and Yeong-Ran Park (2003) ‘Families in Transition and the Family Welfare Policies in Korea’. Paper presented at the Canada—Korea Social Policy Research Symposium, Seoul, 22–23 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Hyekyung and Ito Peng (2005) ‘Civil Society and Social Policy Reform in Japan and Korea’. Paper presented at Association of Asian Studies Annual Congress, 31 March-4 April, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Hyun-Seung (1999b) ‘Korea’s Aging Population’. Monthly Chosun, September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainichi Shimbun (2000) Mainichi Shirnbun Seron Chosa (Mainichi Shimbun National Opinion Survey). Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbun.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) (1997) Heisei 9-nendo Kosei Hakusho. (1997 White Paper on Health and Welfare), Tokyo: MHW.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour (MHWL) (2001) Heisei 13-nendo Kosei Rodo Hakusho. (2001 White Paper on Health, Welfare, and Labour). Tokyo: MHWL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour (MHWL) (2004) Heisei 16-nendo Kosei Rodo Hakusho. (2004 White Paper on Health, Welfare, and Labour). Tokyo: MHWL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour (MHWL) (2005) Heisei 17-nendo Kosei Rodo Hakusho. (2005 White Paper on Health, Welfare, and Labour). Tokyo: MHWL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Labour (1998) Heisei-9 Hataraku Josei no Jijo (Situation of Working Women, 1997). Tokyo: 21-seiki Shokugyo Zaidan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mkandawire, Thandika (ed.) (2004) Social Policy in a Development Context. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moon, Seung Sook (2002) ‘Carving out Space: Civil Society and the Women’s Movement in South Korea’. Journal ofAsian Studies, 61(2): 473–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Institute for Population and Social Security Research (NIPSSR) (2002) Jinko Dotai Tokei (Population Statistics). Tokyo: NIPSSR.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Institute for Population and Social Security Research (NIPSSR) (2004) Population Statistics, 2004. Tokyo: NIPSSR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nihon Fujin Dantai Rengokai (NFDR) (Association of Women’s Organization of Japan). (1997) Josei Hakusho, 1997 (White Paper on Women, 1997). Tokyo: Horupu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nihon Fujin Dantai Rengokai (NFDR) (Association of Women’s Organization of Japan). (2001) Josei Hakusho, 2001 (White Paper on Women, 2001). Tokyo: Horupu.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2004) Social Expenditure Database. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osawa, Mari (2000) ‘Government Approaches to Gender Equality in the mid-1990s’. Social Science Japan Journal, 3(1): 2–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osawa, Mari (2003) ‘Japanese Government Approaches to Gender Equality Since the mid-1990s’. Occasional Paper Series 9, Wayne State University College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, February.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palley, H. (1992) ‘Social Policy and the Elderly in South Korea: Confucianism, Modernization and Development’. Asian Survey, 32: 787–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, Yeong-Ran (2005) ‘Gender Dimensions of Family Policy in Korea’: Paper presented at Canada-Korea Social Policy Research Cooperation Symposium, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Canada, 26–27 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekkanen, Robert (2000) ‘Japan’s New Politics: The Case of the NPO Law’. Journal of Japanese Studies, 26(1): 111–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pempel, T.J. (1998) Regime Shift: Comparative Dynamics of the Japanese Political Economy. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, Ito (2002a) ‘Japan: The Interaction of Gender and Demography in a Low-Birth Rate and Aging Society’. In Rianne Mahon and Sonya Michel (eds.), Child Care at the Crossroads: Gender, Entitlements, and Welfare State Restructuring. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, Ito (2002b) ‘Social Care in Crisis: Gender, Demography and Welfare State Restructuring in Japan’. Social Politics, 9(3): 411–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, Ito and Joseph Wong (2004) ‘Growing Out of the Developmental State: East Asian Welfare Reform in the 1990s’. Paper presented at International Sociological Association, Research Committee 19, Conference, 2–4 September, Paris, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prime Minister’s Office Japan (1994) Seron Chosa (Public Opinion Survey). Tokyo: PMO, May.

    Google Scholar 

  • Retherford, Robert D., Naohiro Ogawa and Rikiya Matsukura (2001) ‘Late Marriage and Less Marriage in Japan’. Population and Development Review, 27(1): 65–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seguino, Stephanie (1997) ‘Gender Wage, Inequality and Export-led Growth in South Korea’. Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 34: 102–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seong, Kyoung-Ryung (2000) ‘Civil Society and Democratic Consolidation in South Korea: Great Achievements and Remaining Problems’. In Larry Diamond and Byung-Kook Kim (eds) Consolidating Democracy in South Korea. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shipper, Apichai W. (2005) ‘Shaping the Japanese State: The Role of Foreigner Support Groups in Redefining Membership Rules and State Responsibilities’. Paper presented at Association of Asian Studies Annual Congress, 31 March-4 April, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sung, Sirin (2003) ‘Women Reconciling Paid and Unpaid Work in a Confucian Welfare State: The Case of South Korea’. Social Policy and Administration, 37(4): 342–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2002) Human Development Report. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/indic/indic_218_1_1.html/statistics/data/indic/indic_218_1_1.html, accessed on 3 August 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada, Masahiro (1999) Parasite Singles no Jidai (The Age of Parasite Singles). Tokyo: Chikuma Shinsh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, Joseph (2004) Health Democracies: Welfare Politics in Taiwan and South Korea. Ithaca NY and London: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Ito Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Switzerland

    Shahra Razavi (Research Coordinator) (Research Coordinator)

  2. University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

    Shireen Hassim (Associate Professor in Political Studies) (Associate Professor in Political Studies)

Copyright information

© 2006 UNRISD

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Peng, I. (2006). Social Policy Reforms and Gender in Japan and South Korea. In: Razavi, S., Hassim, S. (eds) Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context. Social Policy in a Development Context. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230625280_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation