Who are fragile families?

In the United States, the term "fragile families" refers to "unwed parents and their children," who, according to studies by researchers all over the nation, were shown to be more prone to poverty, poor health conditions, and had a heavier reliance on public programs.

On the other hand, when the South Korean government proposes policies for fragile families(취약가정), the term indicates all social classes that require support, hence includes low-income families, multi cultural families, and other classes.

(Image of Ukrainian Refugee Children volunteered by F.F&S.S foundation)

Why do such discrepancies exist?

In the United States, there has been a consistent effort to specifically distinguish and support such fragile families. According to a 2010 report by Princeton Brookings on Fragile Families, US can track efforts to define this social phenomenon, hence traditionally made constant efforts to create policies specified to this issue.

Another factor was that in the United States, fragile families are a very serious issue, with research estimating that over 32% of families in the US are unwed, hence can be defined as "fragile families."

(Fragile Family Statistics in South Korea, 2017 Side View)

However, in South Korea, according to official government research performed on 2021, the population of fragile families sums up to roughly 7.1%, hence there is relatively less attention given into the specific area.

Therefore, if you look at new policies introduced by the government each month, most policies are targeting low-income families in general, and does not specifically address fragile families. Fragile families are social classes that need extra care, since research shows that children grown in these fragile families have a negative impact on their intellectual and psychological development.

Thus, there must be a reconsideration of the definition of “Fragile Families” in South Korea for societal problems to adequately be addressed.

Jooyoung Choi, 06/14/2023