Does Filial Piety Still Matter? A Filiality-based Perspective on Intergenerational Solidarity and Cooperation

ABSTRACT

The Republic of Korea has its own tradition of intergenerational solidarity based on long-lasting social norms and values. This paper explores the issues associated with filial piety for elderly parents and older relatives, and its impact on intergenerational relationships in Korean culture. An exploratory study was conducted as data were collected from 17 individual interviews between 2018 and 2019 across the nation. Thematic analysis was used to develop themes through interaction with the data. The findings show that the core principle of filial piety continues to constitute a major component of intergenerational relationships and practices in contemporary Korean society.

KEYWORDS:

• Family support
• filial piety
• intergenerational solidarity
• Korean
• older people

Ethics approval

The Western Sydney University Human Research Ethics Committee in August 2018 (H12837)

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Korean Studies Grant Program of the Academy of Korean Studies [AKS-2018-R14].