December 2007

I’m glad to know that South Korea’s gender imbalance has improved to the extent that the ratio of girls and boys born now approaches natural levels.

According to a study released by the World Bank in October, South Korea is the first of several Asian countries with large sex imbalances at birth to reverse the trend, moving toward greater parity between the sexes. Last year, the ratio was 107.4 boys born for every 100 girls, still above what is considered normal, but down from a peak of 116.5 boys born for every 100 girls in 1990.

I still think the article sort of overstates how accepted girls and women are here, making it seem as preference for sons is mostly a thing of the past.

And last year, a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs showed that of 5,400 married South Korean women younger than 45 who were surveyed, only 10 percent said they felt that they must have a son. That was down from 40 percent in 1991.

The situation may be getting better, but I still regularly encounter women who are determined to give their husbands “sons” and those who get upset when finding out that they are having a girl, and of grandparents who blatantly favor the boys over the girls among their grandchildren.

When I was pregnant with Susana, the first thing my boss said to me was to tell my husband “he wished for me to have a son.”

It’s definitely not universal. I do know plenty of much-loved daughters here and lots of doting grandparents of girls, but I still think there’s a long way to go before it’s no longer an issue.

A brief history of the spread of Western food in Korea.

Hat tip: ZenKimchi

A really good history of the Cheonggyecheon, with pictures.