Agency or communion: Inter-generational dynamics of doing unpaid work at home in South Korea

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of doing housework on the self, with the aim of understanding women’s active move to gain agency in recent years and men’s hesitation in moving toward roles of caring or communion. It further seeks to understand what underlies these behavioral differences of gender. By analyzing data gathered via 79 biographical interviews and three focus group interviews with respondents drawn from two generations in Korea, I examine the following issues regarding doing unpaid work at home. First, between generations, the shift in cultural ideology from traditional gender norms to individual achievement has weakened the motivation to do unpaid work. Second, unlike conventional insights about gender differences in behavior, wherein women pursue closeness and affection (communion) while men seek independence and autonomy (agency), it is contended here that women and men pursue both to varying degrees in order to empower themselves while coping with unpaid work at home. This study contributes to understanding issues regarding gendered behavior in the following ways: it offers new insights about the conventional understanding about gender behavior being dichotomous; clarifies how women placed under traditional gender norms perform as autonomous actors; and seeks to understand gendered behavior in a historical context.