• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.11-24
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• 2009

This study aims to analyze families and the kinship concepts in Korean laws based on meanings, boundaries, and functions. Korean culture is in the process of changing from traditional familism to democratic individualism, yet this is not a simple transition. In recent times, many people have come to look at family life from both traditional and individual perspectives, so their family values are inconsistent with each other. Therefore, this creates many family conflicts. As a result of this problem, I have analyzed families and the kinship concepts in Korean laws based on meanings, boundaries, and functions. Because laws regulate and reflect our everyday life, it is meaningful to review these laws. The results are as follow: First, the meaning of family in Korean laws is to respect other family members, and democratic family relationships. Second, the family boundaries are very different depending on the laws. The core boundary is the nuclear family, but in addition to the nuclear family, the parents of the wife and husband, the family of origin and the kin living together are included in the family member regulations. Third, the functions of the family are caring, education, rules for the living place, child discipline, supporting each other, guardianship for the family members, succession of family assets, and legal accusation rights. Kinship plays an important role in determining child guardianship, permission of a minor to marry, and authority over legal incompetency. Therefore, there are some contradictions between individualism and patriarchy in Korean laws, and these can have an influence on the conflicts between family members in the everyday life.