Who Should Be Responsible for the Latter-Life Security of Mid-Aged Koreans?

Sang Lim Lee, Utah State University
Doo-Sub Kim, Hanyang University

This study will examine the attitudes of mid-aged Koreans toward their own latter life security, focusing on the impacts of values on supporting their elderly parents and the level of social resources. In Korea, traditional filial duty has been considered as one of the most important factors in determining patterns of intergenerational support. However, with the recent changes in the traditional norms and values as well as the population structures in Korea, the importance of filial duty with respect to intergenerational support has considerably withered. Rather, it is suspected that the level of social resources including economic ability and educational attainments would play more important roles in determining the attitudes toward latter life security among mid-aged Koreans. We employ the Survey on Family Support and Plans for Latter Life Security Among Mid-Aged Koreans conducted in 1999 as a main source of information.