More Fathers Take Paternity Leave

In the past, mothers would traditionally apply for maternity leave after a child's birth, in order to take care of their young infant at home.

But in recent years, the number of Korean fathers asking for time off from work has also been on the rise.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor recently released information about parental leaves in Korea.

It said that over 53,000 Korean men and women took parental leaves in the first half of 2019.

Among them, 11,000 were Korean men applying for paternity leaves.

In other words, one in every five people who took time off for their child was male.

This number is a sharp increase from the same period in 2018, when about 8,400 Korean men went on paternity leave.

The ministry said it expected the total number of paternity leaves to exceed 20,000 for this year.

More Korean men are opting for paternity leaves for various reasons.

Some are doing it to bond with their young child, as well as take a much-needed break from work.

Others are doing it to share the responsibility of child-rearing with their wives.

This also allows women to return to the workplace while their husbands stay at home and hold down the fort.

Furthermore, Korean fathers feel more able to take extended leaves from work than before.

That is because fewer companies are discouraging their male employees from applying for paternity leaves.

Also, in recent years, the government has raised the monetary compensation received by people on parental leaves.

It is also considering extra compensation for fathers, who are usually the main breadwinners of a family.

"Raising a child should be a responsibility shared by both parents," a ministry official said.

"So, hopefully, more fathers will take advantage of the parental leave system."

 

 

• paternity  pə|tɜːrnəti  아버지임 (→maternity)  paternal  pə|tɜːrnl  아버지의, 아버지 같은   Paternity Leave 남자의 출산 휴가

• maternity  mə|tɜːrnəti   어머니[임부]인 상태   maternal  məˈtɜːrnl  어머니다운, 어머니 같은, 모성의  maternity leave  출산 휴가

• parental leaves   pəˈrentl   육아휴가 (→maternity leave, paternity leave)

• opt  ɑːpt   (~을 하기로/하지 않기로) 택하다

• child-rearing   자녀 양육

• hold (down) the fort   요새를 지키다, (대신) 직책을 수행하다(=bear responsibility in the absence of others).

• take extended leave  장기 휴가를 얻다

• discourage  dɪs|kɜːrɪdʒ   (무엇을 어렵게 만들거나 반대하여) 막다[말리다]  / 의욕[열의]을 꺾다, 좌절시키다 (=dishearten), (↔encourage)

• monetary  |mʌnɪteri    통화[화폐]의

• compensation  |kɑːmpen│seɪʃn    보상(금) ,   (좋지 않은 점을 완화해 주는) 보상[이득]

• breadwinner  ˈbredwɪnə(r)   (집안의) 생계비를 버는 사람, 가장