Having son reason for pregnancy among working S. Korean women: scholar

By Kim Young-gyo
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) -- Having at least one son is a significant reason for
South Korean working mothers' pregnancies, a scholar said Thursday.
"Working mothers with at least one son were less likely to have an additional
child than were those without at least one son," said Kim Dong-sik, a researcher
at the Institute of Health and Environment at Seoul National University.
Kim was one of the guest speakers at a conference held in Seoul Thursday to
discuss the results of a survey on women and families, which was conducted by the
government-funded Korean Women's Development Institute.
"Preference for a son, which is deeply rooted in patriarchal family systems such
as in Korea, correlates with fertility intentions," Kim said. He added, however,
that this preference has "weakened substantially due to higher education levels
and rates of participation in the labor force among women during the country's
industrialization and urbanization."
In traditional Korean society, sons were often considered to be the main source
of economic assistance for parents in old age and were responsible for
propagating the family line.
On the other hand, daughters were often considered expendable even when they had
greater personal economic resources because most of their assets went to the
husband upon marriage.
Kim also said that the desire for a son in Korea is even more pronounced in
regard to the third or subsequent child.
Citing 2006 reports by the Korea National Statistical Office, he said that in
2005, the sex ratio of males to females was 104.8, 106.4, and 128.2 for the
first, second, and third child respectively.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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