Seoul's Advice to Pregnant Women: Cook, Clean and Stay Attractive - The New York Times - 0 views
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Before giving birth, check that your family has sufficient toilet paper. Prepare ready-made meals for your husband, who surely “is not good at cooking.” Tie up your hair, “so that you don’t look disheveled” even as you go without a bath. And after the baby arrives, keep a “small-size” dress in sight
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the government can ill afford to fumble as it desperately tries to compel women to have more babies and reverse the world’s lowest birthrate
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The pregnancy guidelines were first published on a government website in 2019. But they caught the attention of the public only in recent days, causing an outcry on social media
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Yong Hye-in, an activist and politician, said that under the guidelines, a woman’s child-rearing responsibilities were doubled by having to care for her husband too.
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A petition started online last week, which has been signed by more than 21,000 people, called for a public apology from officials
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While the most offensive parts of the guidelines have been removed, some of the advice remains online
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Other countries in the region, including Japan — which also has an aging population and a low birthrate — have broad gender disparities, especially in relation to pregnancy.
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“Why are we looking for the cause of the low birthrate from far away? It’s right here,” wrote one person on Twitter
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It made no mention of any responsibilities for husbands. But it did have some suggestions for how to remain attractive to them.
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Though South Korea has become an economic and cultural powerhouse, many women still experience misogyny in very practical terms
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the gender pay gap in South Korea is the highest among its 37 member countries. Working women earn nearly 40 percent less than men, and many stop working when they have children, often pressured by their families and workplaces.
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Women were also advised to check their household essentials so that their family members would “not be uncomfortable.”
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These declining populations pose a threat to the countries’ economies, making it all the more important that governments tread carefully in incentivizing women to have children.
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Ms. Vitale, who works primarily with foreign women married to Korean men, said that though Korean society had traditionally perceived pregnant women as “incapacitated,”