Inside Korea’s Social Impact

  In the past, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that “the whole village raised the children” in Korea. In my own experience, when my parents went to work, neighbors looked after us. If a friend’s parents were away, we spent time at each other’s homes. Even during outings or picnics, several families would join together to care for the children.   However, as nuclear families became more common, this culture of communal childcare gradually disappeared. With more women participating in the workforce and an increasing number of single-person households , the responsibility for childcare became concentrated primarily on parents and immediate family. A shortage of childcare facilities, high costs, and concerns about quality added to the practical burden on families.   A New Model of Cooperative Childcare through Social Economy   Recently, social economy initiatives have begun addressing childcare challenges in a community-centered, participatory, and su...