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The Clash between Social Policy and Traditional Values: Unmet Welfare Needs Sustained by the Culture of Familism in South Korea
Author(s) -
Phillips Ruth,
Jung YongMoon
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
asian social work and policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.286
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1753-1411
pISSN - 1753-1403
DOI - 10.1111/aswp.12004
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , poverty , sociology , social policy , safety net , piety , subsistence agriculture , inequality , welfare , dismissal , underclass , economic growth , gender studies , political science , economics , anthropology , law , geography , mathematical analysis , mathematics , agriculture , archaeology
Drawing from a wider study of the ideas of poverty and inequality in S outh K orea, this paper reports on the lived experiences of disadvantaged S outh K oreans and their relationship to the N ational B asic L ivelihood S ecurity S ystem ( NBLSS ), a flagship social assistance program aimed at addressing poverty and inequality. Utilizing a cultural approach to understanding and analysing policy responses to poverty, the impact of familism in the application of the NBLSS safety net is examined. Research data is presented through the testimonies, obtained through qualitative research interviews, of disadvantaged research participants and those who work with them, as well as policy‐makers' perspectives, revealing key flaws in the current NBLSS policy objectives. It is clearly evident that, by clinging to outdated C onfucian conceptualizations of familial piety as a justification for highly selectivist access to what is no more than a subsistence level of financial support for poor people, the proposition of a poverty safety net is compromised and is widely missing its aim of reducing poverty and inequality in contemporary S outh K orea.