An Asian Perspective 47

filial perso11s are vvidely pu blicized in the f'orm of nevvs, doc11menta-

ries, readi11g mate1·ials, pl ays, a11(1 literary W<)J'ks clisse1ni r1ated via
mass n1edia an cl ed11catio11<1l cl1a1111els. Tl1ese activi ties r·eflect the
1·esLtrge11ce of S()Cial concer11over tl1e traditional ideal of filial piety
and the increased social eftort to exhort tl1is ideal .
Exp.r·ession s of' filial piety are shifting, ho"vever. Interge11eratior1al
rela tior1ships are becorr1ir1g rr1ore affection based, and younger gen-
erations tend tc> exchange s11ppc>r t based more on feelings of· i·eci-
f)r·ocity. Tl1ese c: 1<. r1ges ir1clic<.t te ;: r1ew tre11d en1e1·ging, <:t move fror11
autho1·i tarian and pat1·ia1·c}1al 1·elatio11ships to eg·alitarian and r·ecip-
r·fJ< <.11 1)<1tte1·11s <)f n1u ttl £ll st1p1)c)r·t betvveer 1gener<1
: tior1s. lr1terestir1gly,
tl1e cor·e te11et of filial piety is to fulfill the dl1ty of reciprocity; pare11ts
love cl1ild r·en a11d l1ave in ercy ()11 thern, a11d childre11 i r1 1-etu r·r1
respect <1r1d ca1·e for tl1eir pa1·ent.s (Che, 1985; Park , 1983) .
Despite the cl1ange, filial })iety 1·em ains a ce11t1·al valt1e, and feeli11gs
of respect <1r1<i obligati or1 bir1d ger1er,1tior1s togethe1·in Korea as in
tl1e cases of Ct1ir1a a11d .Ja par1 (Cho\\!, 1995; Maeda, 1997; Sung,
1998) . ()ver 90% of young Ko1·eans f"eel strongly that paren ts in old
<1ge 1r1u st be st1pported by adt1lt children (Sur1g, 1995) . 111]apart as
\vell , th e you·n g st1·ongly t1phold the i1otio11 th<1t cl1ildren have the
resp<)r1sil1ili ty t<) < 1re for· tl1ei1 [Jarer1ts (Ca.n1p})ell & Br·otiy, 1985;
Koyano, 1996) . Elliott and Ca1npbell ( 1993) summed ttp sin1ilar·ities
i11 tl1is respec t between tl1e thr·ee Eas t A;;;ian 1)eoples: ''Expectatio11s
regarciing fan1ily care of the elcle·rl)'and interger1e1atior1al reciprocity
i11 l{orean a11d Cl1i11ese cultt11es stro11gly i-ese1nble th ose fou11d in
Japan, as all th ree of· tl1ese E::ist 1\sia11 ct1ltu res have been rrittc:h
i11flu cnced l)y Con ft1cian ethical cc>11c:cptio11s of' filial piety. " 1.,ht1s,
t.l1e far11ily f:·ult111·e ()f Ko1·ea r1s ar1cl other East Asian people are diffe1-
e11t fron1 tl1ose of tl1e VVeste1·r1 COllrl tries.
rl'o cou11ter the t1·ends of fa111ily dispersion , reduced fertility arid
longe1- lives, East Asians are modifyir1g their means ot st1pporti11g
agir1g J;: r·e11ts '\ivh ile sea1·cl1ing f"or altern.ative ways ot'tipholding the
t1-adition al value of filictl JJiety tl1eir ct1ltu.r·al l1er·it;:1ge, \Vl1il l1 is tl1e
ideologic: foLt n clation of far11ily suppor·t.

NEEDS OF FAMII..IES FOR PUBLIC SERVICES

Ir1 tl1e last seve1·,1I years a guidi11g pr·inciple t111derlying Korean gov-
er11mcr1t policy flaS bee directed tO\Vard tl1e r-e5·torati(Jri <._)f t}1e f llllily's

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