'South Korean Family at the Crossroads' Slated April 18

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 7, 2017) — Jae Kyung Lee, professor emeritus of women’s studies at Ewha Womans University, visits the University of Kentucky campus on April 18 to discuss “The South Korean Family at the Crossroads: Deconstructing Modern Dichotomies.”

Lee’s public lecture is slated for 2-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, in the Niles Gallery of the UK Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

The socio-demographic changes, both quantitative and qualitative, of the South Korean family in the 21st century have been interpreted as the decline of the modern patriarchal nuclear family. Diversification of household composition, changes in norms and practices regarding marriage and partnership, a decline in the fertility rate, emergence of international marriage and transnational families, and increased insecurity in the gender division of labor challenge the conventional notion of the modern Korean family.

In her published research, Lee argues for a family flexibility approach to move beyond the modern dichotomies, such as a normal family versus an abnormal (or broken) family; heterosexuality versus homosexuality, private versus public; family versus work; and family versus market, in order to understand 21st century South Korean family norms regarding marriage and family.  

This Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Public Lecture is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Department of Gender and Women’s Studies; Department of Geography and the Committee on Social Theory; the UK International Center; the College of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation; the Anthropology Graduate Student Association; and the Lexington Korean School.