The New York Times has an article here on the stigma that single women face in Korea. For those who chose to become mothers outside of marriage, the social pressure can be significant.
[E]ach year, social pressure drives thousands of unmarried women to choose between abortion, which is illegal but rampant, and adoption, which is considered socially shameful but is encouraged by the government. The few women who decide to raise a child alone risk a life of poverty and disgrace.
Nearly 90 percent of the 1,250 South Korean children adopted abroad last year, most of them by American couples, were born to unmarried women, according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. * * *
[One woman], 27, who gave birth to a boy last month, said:”My former boyfriend’s sister screamed at me over the phone demanding that I get an abortion. His mother and sister said it was up to them to decide what to do with my baby because it was their family’s seed.”
Thanks to Nancy Kim for pointing out this article.
-Bridget Crawford
