The Flow of the Times Has Changed Families

Sikgu (family; 食口 in Chinese characters), another word for gajok (family),
means people who live in the same house and share meals.
Persons who live in the same place and eat together, in other words. In other words,
in a broader sense, a family does not have to be blood related. Family composition is also changing.
It has not only changed from large families to nuclear families, but from married couples and their unmarried children,
to siblings or friends only. Let’s take a look at the history of the changing concept of “family,”
which is being reconstituted according to the flow of the times in today’s world.
Article. Editor’s Office

United we stand? Divided also works!

The word “family” originally comes from the Latin word “famulus (servant),” which referred to all the people living together in the same house, including both family members as well as servants and slaves. In the past, Korea has also used the word sikgu more than the word gajok. Sikgu literally means “the mouths that eat together,” emphasizing that a family is a community of people who spend their lives together.

In the traditional Korean society, a family referred not only to parents and children, but also grandparents, uncles, aunts, and even the servants that lived in the house. The traces of clan villages composed of relatives of the same family names can be found in the names of clan names such as Andong Kim Clan, Miryang Bak Clan, etc. which were attached to the region name. Since labor was a primary asset in the agrarian society, it was common for households to have a large family with grandparents and many siblings. Later, going through the industrial era, the representative model of families became nuclear families composed of married couples and their unmarried children. Currently, single-person households make up the greatest portion in the family composition of Korean society.

According to Statistics Korea, single-person households which only made up 4.8% of the Korean population in 1980 increased noticeably to 38.14%, as of April 2020. On the other hand, four-person households, which were considered the representative norm of a family, now comprise only 15.93%, while large families composed of six persons or more are less than 1%. The families are becoming smaller and smaller, from clan villages to large families, to nuclear families, and to one-person households.

Not only the families have become smaller

In the times when large families of three generations lived together, large houses with many rooms were essential. Of course, the uses for these rooms had to be bedrooms. However, smaller families changed the living environments. Because the number of family members decreased, demand for large apartments decreased, and the number of rooms in a housing unit also decreased. Accordingly, in a place of fewer rooms, the construction companies expanded the area of the living room and kitchen, and the rooms are designed to be used freely as a dress room, study, hobby room, etc. in addition to bedrooms.

The style of meals has also changed. Previously, it was natural for all family members to gather around the table and eat together. It was like an unwritten rule. We were taught on the table “not to pick up the cutlery before the elders do” and “to be grateful for the hard work of so many people that brought the meals on the table and not to leave food.” And a proper meal had to include rice, soup, and four or five side dishes.

Now, the idea of a meal is simpler. As the number of family members decreases and each person’s life becomes more important, people prefer to have simpler meals, free from the constraints of time, place, and formality. Grocery stores now also make efforts to pack small quantities of vegetables or dishes to satisfy one-person or two-person households. Convenient meal replacements in various forms such as instant rice, retort food, meal supplement shakes, and cereal bars considering nutrition are being developed.

Families do not have to be blood-related

Now, we will talk about an important and fundamental point. The term “family” means the fundamental group unit of society formed by marriage, blood, or adoption This is how the Framework Act on Health Homes, the basis for family policies in Korea defines family. Does this mean that any group not belonging to the above is not a family?

Composition of a family is not limited to the number of family members. To younger generations, marriage is not a must, but a choice. Even after marriage, people choose to get divorced for a better life or make new families through remarriage. Households that used to have three to four people sometimes scale down to one- or two-person households after the children move out. The families are also becoming more diversified with single-parent and grandparent-led families, or unmarried couples living together. Amidst these changes, movements are seen in places to make the meaning of family broader, from blood-related families to “social families.” Uri Dongne Saramdeul (UDongSa: Our Town People) is a housing community that adopts “social family.” Thirty people live in five multiplex housing units in Geomam-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon. The housing units are purchased under the name of UDongSa, and people living there take care of the home loan payments and living expenses.

Most of them are one-person households who have lived alone for more than 10 years, but there are also couples with children and unmarried couples. They made a family living together without the system of blood relations or marriage. Here, they live a richer and more stable life, and feel warmth and happiness that they did not have when they lived alone.

One-person households who look after each other, elderly people who need long-term care, unmarried couples who have been in relationships for a long time, couples who have been married before, and various other forms of living community groups. They live together, sharing space and hearts based on trust and love. How can you say they are not family because they are not blood-related? It’s time that we think about the definition of a family appropriate for today, and we need changes in social awareness, and adaptation of the system on families in various forms.

What are families like in other countries?

Let’s look at the cases in other countries. In countries that had one-person households before us, housing culture and communities in various forms are already common. It is impressive that some countries have approved of families in various forms in the early stage and are making policies to support them. In Germany, multi-unit housings have been distributed from 2006 to prepare for a low fertility, aging society. It began with the thought that a living space for each individual had to be guaranteed, but a social network for their emotional satisfaction was also needed. They live in groups by ages such as youths, middle-aged, and elderly, or by types such as married couples, single-parent families, or elderly living alone.

In France, there is an alternative form of marriage which is recognized as a new form of marriage, a partnership called PACS (Pacte civil de solidarite). Both same- and opposite-sex couples can be legally recognized as spouses without getting married through a contract. Many young people take advantage of this system, because they are given the equal level of social security and welfare benefits as married couples, and become a legal guardian to each other.

While couples can simply submit a document to prove that they live together and be recognized as a family through PACS in France, you need to pass a test to get married and be family in Brazil. In the past, some tribes of Brazil had to pass a test in which one needs to carry and transport heavy rattan for a certain distance or get whipped. In the modern times, they need to take courses related to marriage for a certain amount of time and pass a test to become a family. Of course, you may still be married if you did not pass the test. However, there will be disadvantages in inheritance, etc.

The types of families have changed over time at such slow speed that you would not have noticed if you did not pay attention to it. The perception of families is being reorganized gradually. As the world changes, there will be yet other types of families in the future. Nevertheless, however much the forms of the families might change, the security and happiness that we feel in a family will always be there. For that is, after all, the reason why many people still feel they need a family.