According to a small study by the National Women’s Education Center in Japan, Korean fathers spend less time with their children than their international counterparts (donga.com). 1,000 parents from six countires—South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, the United States, France, and Japan—were interviewed.
‘The results showed that the Korean fathers spent as little as 2.8 hours a day on average in 2005, the lowest figure among the countries.
Japan followed Korea with a figure of 3.1 hours, then came France with 3.8 hours, the U.S. and Sweden with 4.6 hours and Thailand 5.9 hours in order.’
Korea’s statistics are down from 3.6 hours in 1994. Longer work days are cited as the biggest cause for the decline; 53% of Korean fathers work more than forty-nine hours per week, and nearly 32% work longer than sixty.
I work forty hours per week, and I still feel as though I don’t have enough time with my family. I’ll see Ian for maybe a half-hour in the mornings, and less than four hours when I get home.
Go, Thailand!