Confrontation between working and full-time mothers

A customized childcare policy that allows only the children of working mothers to go to all-day class at nursery school has brought about unexpected social ramification. There are unavoidable reasons for the changes of government policies. The biggest one is lack of financial resources. With sufficient budget, there would be no need to distinguish all-day class (12 hours) and the class for certain timeslot (6~8 hours). Many regions, however, lack financial resources. Another reason is that full-time mothers who take their children earlier than working moms are preferred and this goes against the social trend that recommends more women to be employed.

Many blogs that full-time moms frequently visit are filled with their outcry against the government. They argue the idea that full-time mothers have enough time for child rearing and, therefore, don’t need to send their kids to full-time childcare centers is wrong. Although they could be sick or have the senior to take care of, they were reduced to shameless a group of people who eats into the national coffer. “This is a telling sign that the government believes childrearing is the responsibility of women,” a left-wing Korean Women’s Association United said.

Opposition parties have jumped into the controversy through the inspection of government offices as well. The government plans to spend 10.5 trillion Korean won (approx. 8.95 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, some 170 billion won (approx. 14.5 million dollars) down from 2014. Since free childcare was one of the election pledges of President Park Geun-hye, it is the breaking of promises and regressing of welfare system if only working mothers could have their kids at full-time daycare centers. Out of 170 billion won, 130 billion won was naturally reduced due to low birth rate, which means that only 40 billion won (approx. 34 million dollars) was actually cut. This shows how difficult it is to restructure welfare system as the cost reduction is not that large even with limited use of full-time daycare center for full-time mothers.

A bird in a cage is envious of other birds flying freely and tries to get out of the cage while free birds wish to be in the cage as they don’t have to worry about food. Can working mothers and full-time mothers be likened to birds in cages and the ones in the free sky? It’s not right to divide them into separate groups as working mothers could turn to full-time ones at any time while full-time mothers could have any working female family members. The government policy for child care could find its way forward only when such frame for confrontation is removed