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BIRTH RATES in South Korea are cratering. That country's birth dearth demonstrates that men and women can lose the taste for family life, for one another, and for posterity. The [...]

The study investigates South Korea's homeownership policy development and identifies key reasons for the limited growth. It examines the underdevelopment of demand-side policies as the basic failure in the sustainable and equitable expansion of homeownership in the country.

Old-age income security has become one of the most important social policy issues in two East Asian emerging welfare states, South Korea and Taiwan, as they transform at a remarkable pace into societies with a representation of older people approaching that of western countries. During the last two decades, the two countries have developed different forms of social protection for older people. South Korea has expanded social insurance pensions with means-tested benefits, whereas Taiwan has introduced flat-rate old-age allowance programmes that exclude the rich rather than target the poor. much has been written about these programmes, but their actual performance in reducing old-age poverty has not been thoroughly examined. This paper analyses the anti-poverty effect of these programmes, firstly by describing recent developments in the two countries, and secondly by examining headcount poverty rates and the size and incidence of the 'poverty gap' using nationally-representative micro-household datasets. We argue that while the programmes have increasingly reduced old-age income security, the different policy choices have resulted in distinctive welfare outcomes in the two countries. In the final section of the article, we discuss the long-term implications of the recent policy reforms. KEY WORDS--old age, poverty, universal benefits, means-tested benefits, social insurance, Korea, Taiwan, East Asia. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X10000413

Although the Korean government reported a housing supply ratio of more than 100% in the early 2000s, regional and class disparities in the Korean housing sector have not been correspondingly alleviated. Unfortunately, many Korean households are still enduring the economic burden caused by cyclical price variation, while many housing construction companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. To resolve the ever-expanding socioeconomic problems in the housing and real estate sector, the current Korean government proposed 831 Countermeasures, which has since met with much controversy. In an effort to address these issues, this paper utilizes a qualitative system dynamics model to elucidate and interrogate complex Korean housing mechanisms. By mapping bibliographical and experimental knowledge with causal loop diagrams, the positive and adverse effects of the 831 Countermeasures are also analyzed. Finally, based on the research findings, alternative policy guidelines are proposed that can be used to strengthen positive housing structures and obviate negative ones. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000159 CE Database subject headings: Korea, south; Housing; Policies. Author keywords: 831 Countermeasures; Korean housing market; Policies.

This article examines the structural conditions and the individual strategies of North Koreans in South Korea. It provides a historical account on the changing social definitions of and policies toward North Korean border-crossers and how the changing conditions have affected their identities and lives. It also gives an ethnographic account of the difficulties and risks of individuals whose identities are caught between 'defector' and 'migrant.' The problems they face in capitalist South Korea are examined in the major areas of social transition--arrival, orientation, residence, consumption, work, education, and ideology--focusing on individual strategies that negotiate cultural differences between the two Koreas., A boy from Wonsan, North Korea, died in Cheju Island, South Korea. His name was Chul and he was nineteen. It was at midnight on a quiet six-lane street. A [...]

The South Korean National Pension scheme was instituted in 1988 and now covers all private-sector employees and the self-employed. Since the financial crisis of 1997, however, it has become controversial and is under considerable pressure, not least because of the perceived financial implications of the country's rapidly ageing population. Predictions of financial shortfalls or 'unsustainability' have prompted calls for severe 'downsizing' of the scheme. The debate on the reform of the scheme has been dominated by the need to respond to demographic change in ways that assist the national economy, invariably by reducing social expenditure. The debate, however, has given little attention to the social or welfare functions of the pension scheme, though the material insecurity of older people has been exacerbated by major changes in the labour market and the family. This paper details recent socio-demographic changes in Korea and discusses their implications for old-age security and pension reform. It argues that public-pension schemes should be developed to strengthen social protection against the insecurities of old-age, that intra-generational redistribution should be at the core of the reformed arrangements, and that the introduction of a comprehensive non-contributory pension scheme should be seriously considered. KEY WORDS--pension reform, South Korea, financial sustainability, old-age security, labour market, family.

As a result of the consolidation of democracy and the spread of globalisation, the Korean welfare regime has undergone significant changes. This article examines the changes that have occurred since the 1990s. Overall social policy has benefited from a marked increase in expenditure since the 1990s. This has been especially visible in terms of the ratio of social expenditures to GDP, which reached 11 per cent by 1998. These changes in Korean social policy brought about a readjustment of the roles of both government and the private sector. The development of income maintenance programmes has been the core change within the Korean welfare regime. Unlike income maintenance programmes, public social services have developed at a rather sluggish pace. The provision of social services has long been regarded as the responsibility of the family and has changed relatively little in comparison to income maintenance programmes. Although Korean social policy has undergone remarkable changes, it would be erroneous to argue that a complete shift in the welfare regime has taken place.

Using Contingent Valuation Method, the monetary value of liberalizing employment of foreign workers in South Korea is determined. South Korean government has recently proposed such a move, and Korean congress has also framed relevant legislations. The study presents cost benefit analysis of the proposed liberalization, as estimated by Koreans.

Migrant workers are often alienated by disadvantages labor conditions as well as social discrimination as a whole, though they have emerged as a major force throughout Korean industry. Social workers in the work place can themselves utilize the micro and macro procedures of assisting troubled newcomers.

Globalization pressured a rebirth of the state in Korea, but in an unexpected direction. Whereas the welfare state retrenched in Western Europe under pressures of the borderless global economy, (1) [...]

Abstract This paper examines the emergence of business groups in Israel and South Korea. The paper questions how, in very different institutional contexts, similar economic organizations emerged. In contrast to [...]

An evaluation is presented on practices for developing integrated identities for adopted children of different ethnoracial background from their adoptive parents. The importance of parental involvement in achieving integration goals is discussed.

Creativity and problem-solving skills appear to be more in demand than ever before. This article presents the authors' observations of a Korean kindergarten that aimed to facilitate the children's creativity. [...]

South Korean society's emphasis on the use of education as a means to improve individual and national wealth has created several negative effects on students. Physical health and abilities of students are compromised as a result of the educational system's focus on gaining more knowledge. Teachers' concentration on high-performing students results in the inability of poorer students to cope with the teaching process thus alienating them. Moreover, corporal punishment is considered as an integral part of the system.

Higher education in South Korea needs urgent reforms that emphasize quality control and humanitarian values to help students deal with global challenges to their skills. The reforms must support programs that combine traditional education in cultural values with educational aids provided by modern information technology to produce graduates of high intellectual and moral caliber. The corruption and conflict in the existing university system is due to debased cultural and intellectual attitudes that have resulted from materialism, power politics and neglect of traditional cultural and humanitarian values.

South Korea may have attained rapid economic and political advancement but social development in the country remains stagnant. Industrialization and its concomitant effects such as the weakening of family ties, inadequate housing and low fertility rate have resulted in the neglect of the elderly. The government's policy of promoting Confucianism instead of formulating a concrete social policy is doing a grave disservice to the elderly and to their caretakers. The admnistration needs to reexamine its objectives and try to balance economic development with social development.

The disciplines and professions that influence special education know no international boundaries. People committed to enhancing the development of students with disabilities benefit from an awareness of conditions beyond their [...], The development and current status of special education in South Korea are described and contrasted to that of the United States. South Korean special education was initiated in the 1890s by U.S. missionaries. Later, Japanese influence was considerable, especially on its regular educational programs. Special programs are available for five classifications of disabilities. Its major national special education legislation contains numerous provisions similar to P.L. 94-142. However, various conditions may impede the further development of services, including a high teacher-pupil ratio, the reliance on self-contained programs, negative attitudes toward people with disabilities, and lack of advocacy groups. Further require considerable research and policy debate among South Koreans.

This study replicated earlier work comparing reward allocation preferences across countries. Results obtained from student groups from the United States, Japan, and South Korea supported the earlier findings. Most noteworthy was a strong universal reward allocation pattern that approximated the equity norm, according to which, rewards are distributed to group members based on their contributions. However, the groups from the United States and Japan, countries that previous research on culture has identified as respectively very individualistic and very masculine, exhibited a stronger preference for equity than the group from South Korea, a country that earlier data have shown to be neither individualistic nor masculine. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

SEOUL--Street protests by thousands of university professors have led the Korean government to modify an ambitious plan to enhance research and strengthen graduate education. Although officials say the changes are [...]