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| The members of "Moduda," a group of fathers from multicultural families based in Jecheon and Danyang of North Chungcheong Province, pose during a launch event at the Chungcheongbuk-do International Education Institute Bukbu Branch in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of the Chungcheongbuk-do International Education Institute Bukbu Branch |
By Bahk Eun-ji
The concept of parenting as a shared job for both mothers and fathers has gradually gained acceptance in Korea, but in many international marriage couples here, it is still recognized as mainly the role of immigrant wives.
However, in one region, fathers of multicultural families who want to take an active part in childcare and are eager to communicate with other parents of multicultural backgrounds have launched a group, named "Moduda," short for the Korean phrase meaning, "we are all multicultural."
This parents' group is comprised of Korean men who are married to wives of foreign nationality and who have children attending kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school in Jecheon and Danyang, North Chungcheong Province.
The wives will participate as associate members, and the group plans to invite parents of non-multicultural families who want to get to know their multicultural neighbors.
The group held its launching ceremony at the Chungcheongbuk-do Province International Education Institute Bukbu Branch in Jecheon.
The group was first proposed by Kim Min-gi, 42, a Korean man who married a Chinese woman, and who has a daughter who is a second-grader in elementary school.
"The moment I came up with the idea for this group was when my daughter and I were sitting and playing a traditional clapping game at the branch," Kim told The Korea Times in a phone interview, Thursday.
"The clapping game is really common and simple. It has been played by children since we were little, but the immigrant mothers sitting next to me and my daughter didn't know how to play it at all. Even if their children really want to play it, these mothers can't help them out."
It was the moment Kim thought that if he could communicate with such women's Korean husbands first, he and his daughter could naturally become friends with the other families.
As a new foreign national resident, Kim's wife was unfamiliar with living here especially with various administrative processes. Kim learned about such difficulties facing multicultural families while taking care of all of his family's administrative matters, from the registration of their marriage through to pregnancy and childbirth.
It was difficult for him to do everything alone at first, but he then realized he should be more active in parenting and taking care of his family because his wife made the difficult decision to come to live here, relying entirely on him.
"I thought that this situation would likely be quite similar in other families with multicultural backgrounds, so, it would be a good idea if we could communicate and build a kind of bond of empathy," Kim said.
"Here at the branch of the institute, there are many educational programs for children, so I used to take my daughter here when my wife was busy. But one day, I realized I was the only father (here). All the children were with their mothers."
"It was not that the fathers were not interested in parenting. I just thought that they didn't know where or how to communicate with other family members. So, I suggested to the head of this branch to establish the group."
This group is the first time that a parent group centered on the fathers of multicultural families has been formed in the North Chungcheong area, and it is also known to be a rare case nationwide.
Usually, groups of parents forming multicultural families have been mainly centered on immigrant women, with their activities being mainly about learning the Korean language and cooking education, to help immigrant women adapt to life in the country.
Kim said that Moduda plans to hold a variety of special lectures on childcare and parenting, as well as social activities.
"In many multicultural families, childcare is perceived as the responsibility of the immigrant wives only. This group was launched from the simple idea that improvement in awareness among Korean husbands, along with parents' balanced roles, is important," said Ryu Hyo-suk, the head supervisor of the branch.
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