Time Use and Gender Inequality in Korea: Differences in Paid, Unpaid and Non-productive Activities

This paper examines trends and gender differences in time use in Korea. The economic/bargaining approach suggests that changes in women's employment, the delay in marriage and decline in fertility have reduced demand for unpaid work. In addition, improvements in women's employment and wages have given women more bargaining power in relation to men consequently men spend more time on unpaid care work. As a result, the amount of time spent on paid and unpaid work between men and women is converging. At the same time, the gender perspective argues that due to changes in economics, demographics and norms the differentiated time use between men and women can be fine-tuned, but the gender inequality remains fundamental. This research examines the Korean case in light of these explanations. In traditional Korean society, gender roles were rigidly divided. In post industrial society, however, changes in women's role and in the family are evident. These changes have been facilitated by the decline in fertility, the increase in divorce, the increase in women's labor market participation, and the decrease in the number of extended families. This research uses the national representative time use survey data of 1999 and 2004 and examines how much time women and men spent on paid work, unpaid work and non-productive activities. This paper argues that women's increased involvement in paid work, changes in gender role, and in family forms may have increased the amount of time that men spend on unpaid care work. However, the increases are far from meaningful for gender relations in practice despite the significant social and economic changes.