Social policy and women's citizenship, in South Korea: Participation of women in the labor market and the National Pension Scheme

This paper aims not only to examine the gendered nature of the South Korean welfare state but also to investigate the ways in which social citizenship is bestowed upon women. Since the economic crisis occurred in 1997, South Korea has reinforced the gendered welfare state by granting social citizenship rights as attached to labor market status. Such social policy largely neglects the particular interests and needs of women and hinders the growth of their social citizenship. The paper therefore argues that for the development of full citizenship rights for women, caring work that is performed mostly by women in the private sphere should be recognized as an obligation as well as a right that constitutes citizenship.