[Feature] Bringing up baby as a working woman

Struggle to reach day-care centers on time a tremendous stress

There is no one who denies that Korea having the world's lowest birthrate will bring economic hardship in the future. However, there are increasing fears about having a baby, especially among women, due to the cost of raising a child and the time constraints involved. The saying that "the number of children one has is a yardstick for measuring wealth" is no longer a joke. In addition, many observers say the government's policy to boost the birthrate is insufficient. The Hankyoreh wanted to look into the reality of bringing up a child in modern Korea. - Ed.

At five in the afternoon. Choi Ji-yeong, 33, mother of four-year-old Seung-yeon, becomes anxious. From now on, it is the best to avoid her boss' eyes. From this time of the day forward, if she receives any small task or instruction from him, it will be difficult for her to leave the office in time. She tries not to answer the telephone. She has begun to feel coldness in the eyes of her coworkers, who used to say that they "understand her situation." She vows to work harder during the rest of the day, but when she comes to the office after feeding her child and sending him to a day-care center, she feels sleepy, even in the morning. At six in the evening, she leaves the office as if running away. She must arrive at the day-care center by seven. She is frequently late due to traffic, and feels sorry for the teachers there. At midnight, her husband comes home from an after-work meeting with colleagues, drunk. He leaves the responsibility for childcare during the nighttime to her, citing, "If I leave the office at six in the evening, I will be fired." She says she often has a desire to kick her husband while he is sleeping. He has now stopped asking her about having a second child.

Working moms start another "war'' as soon as they leave the office. Most of them must pick up their children from a day-care center at 6-7 pm at the latest. Those working moms that cannot get out of the office until six practically need to find a wormhole in the time-space continuum in order to get to the childcare center on time. If these women are lucky, they have relatives or parents living close to them who are willing to watch the children after school. If they can afford the high cost, some hire nannies or helpers to take care of the children in the evening.

There are day-care centers which are open until late at night, but they are few and far between. Each local government is required to have such evening day-care centers, but the centers are often located too far away for parents to take advantage of them. Besides, working moms often do not like the thought of their child staying at such centers for 12 hours a day, five days a week.

The government support plans for double-income families have not developed past nascency. Parents should be happiest when their child is six or seven years old and growing up before their eyes. However, the reality is often the opposite, as parents are then cut off from government child support subsidies and must shoulder the cost and time constraints totally on their own.

An owner of a day-care center said, "More mothers quit their job when their child is four or five than do around childbirth.''

Even when the children enter an elementary school, nothing changes. Even if they attend three or four private tutoring institutes after school, they need the care of their parents at about six or seven every evening.

One company has come up with a unique solution. Lee Ji-seon, 31, sends her child to a day-care center in her company. The center was established through investment by the employees, and takes care of the children until 10 at night. Lee said, "Most of the parents pick up their child around eight. That is only one more hour past seven," the closing time of most day-care centers, "but the benefits the parents feel are tremendous."

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